In a global legal war with Samsung, Apple won the latest battle on Sept. 9 when a German court banned the Korean firm from selling a tablet computer in Germany, ruling it had copied the iPad.

The court, in the western city of Duesseldorf, said Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 computer, a rival to Apple's iconic iPad, had infringed key patent laws. Presiding judge Johanna Brueckner-Hoffmann said there was a "clear impression of similarity" between the Apple and the Samsung products. As an example, she cited the "minimalist, modern form" of the two firms' products, with flat screens and rounded edges.

However, the court limited the sales ban to Germany, despite ruling in a previous judgment that the ban should be Europe-wide.

The court ruled that "it could only be competent to order a Europe-wide ban for a firm headquartered outside the European Union if this firm has a German subsidiary," it said.

A spokesman for Apple declined to comment on the judgment.

Samsung said: "We are disappointed with this ruling and believe it severely limits consumer choice in Germany."

The firm added: "Samsung will actively and immediately appeal this ruling to protect our intellectual property rights."

The Korean firm, which denies Apple's argument that it had "slavishly" copied the market-leading iPhone and iPad, had to pull its latest Galaxy Tab 7.7 inch from a major electronics fair in Berlin earlier this week in view of the case.

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