A judge in The Hague issued a ruling in Apple's patent infringement case against Samsung, prohibiting the sales of Samsung smartphones Galaxy S, S II and Ace for violation of Apple's patents.
According to the court, Samsung violated Apple Inc.'s EP 2,058,868, EP 2098948 and EP 1964022 patents. These are related to the method of scrolling and browsing image galleries, , recording a "flag" in connection with multiple screen taps, and a method to unlock the smartphone by dragging a slider on the touchscreen.
According to the website of the Dutch Judiciary and the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, the court dismissed all other demands by Apple, saying there were no violations of two other Apple patents, no violations for Samsung's tablet computers Galaxy Tab, and no violations of model rights.
The patent violation could be solved by making technical changes in the smartphones, the court said in its ruling. This would then allow the sale of the smartphones.
The injunction applies in the Netherlands and other European countries where the patent is registered and is effective seven weeks and one day after Samsung acknowledges it -- therefore not before October 13.
Samsung said in a statement that its affiliates in the Netherlands were not allowed to sell the smartphones in the Netherlands, Britain, Germany, Finland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Sweden and Switzerland until the patent violation was resolved.
However, it said the ruling was not expected to affect sales in European markets other than the Netherlands.
Earlier today, Samsung unveiled four new smartphone models under its Galaxy line, expanding its flagship product line to cheaper phones to tap growth in emerging markets.
