Samsung tablet ban lifted in Europe

A Europe-wide sales ban on Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 device has been lifted although a provisional injunction still applied in Germany.

A spokesman for the German court said the decision followed questions about whether or not it had jurisdiction to ban a South Korean company from making sales across Europe.

"There are two Samsung companies involved in the case - one is a German subsidiary and the other is South Korean Samsung," the spokesman said.

"For the Germany company nothing changes, and for the South Korean company nothing changes in Germany, but it can sell elsewhere."

The spokesman said the lifting of restrictions had nothing to do with the questionable photos in Apple's original court filing.

Apple had come under fire in the case over comparison photos it had supplied in evidence filings.

It was reported earlier this week that the judge in the case had managed to get hold of the devices themselves to make a physical comparison.

The preliminary injunction will again be discussed in an appeal hearing on 25 August, when Samsung will have a chance to address the accusations of patent infringement levelled against it.

The decision to allow sales in the rest of Europe will stand until then. Apple declined to comment.