Dutch Court gives thumbs up to Samsung's curves

A Dutch court, citing previous decisions in British courts, has ruled that some Samsung Galaxy tablets do not infringe an Apple design.

Wednesday's ruling by a district court in The Hague concerned the rounded corners of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1, Galaxy Tab 8.9, and Galaxy Tab 7.7.

"We continue to believe that Apple was not the first to design a tablet with a rectangular shape and rounded corners and that the origins of Apple's registered design features can be found in numerous examples," Samsung said in a statement.

Apple and Samsung, the world's top two smartphone makers, are locked in patent disputes in at least 10 countries as they vie to win customers for their latest gadgets in the lucrative mobile market.

In late 2011, Samsung was forced to delay the launch of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in Australia due to a preliminary injunction request by Apple. The injunction was dismissed a month later by the Federal Court of Australia. Seperate legal battles over a raft of disputed patents continue in Australian court.

(Reporting by Sara Webb).