In a crushing decision by the German trade court, Apple has managed to win the rights to be the sole manufacturer that can make “minimalist rectangular tablet designs in Germany”. That means Samsung and everyone else who is not Apple can’t sell their 10-inch tablets in Germany. Well, technically that’s not true – they CAN still sell a tablet-like product if they adhere to the following stipulations:
a) Have an abundance of physical buttons on the face
b) Be substantially thicker or heavier than the iPad
c) Not be a rectangle(!) (e.g. a circular tablet)
The decision basically gives Apple a gigantic monopoly of Europe’s third biggest market when it comes to tablets, even though their sleazy lawyers managed to sneak in heavily photo-shopped comparison pictures of the Galaxy Tab and iPad into court. We guess karmic justice doesn’t really apply in the world of technology, we guess?
Reports of Steve Jobs/Tim Cook maniacally laughing and petting their white cats were unverified.
Source: Daily Tech