The Court of the Hague, in the Netherlands, has denied an appeal from Apple to place an injunction on Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales on grounds of design patent infringement. The Dutch ruling took into account two out of six potential pieces of prior art, though they may take more into consideration later on. Apple has already been shot down once for this case in the Dutch lower courts, and having the appeal denied as well means this case is pretty cut and dry.

Apple's having some good luck against Samsung in Germany, but that's apparently not setting a precedent for the rest of Europe. It seems like globally, Apple is going to have a hard time enforcing these design patents, despite seeing varied success in a few regions. Even Australia, which had placed a ban on some Samsung products, eventually reversed its decision. Unless Apple manages to get consistent ruling internationally, it will be hard to avoid imports into the few countries that have a local sales ban on devices that look like the iPhone or iPad.

While I certainly appreciate Apple's classy design, it seems a little extreme for a company whose founder openly borrowed good ideas and made them better. You can find the full Dutch court ruling, ripe for Google Translating, via the source link below.

Source: rechtpraak.nl, FOSS Patents

Samsung has already sued Apple over patent infringements and now they're attempting to get a full out ban of iPhones and 3G iPads in the Netherlands. They've sued Apple on infringement of four patents and not only want a ban but a full retail recall of any device that uses 3G technology.

The patents involved are standards-essential patents. They are incorporated as internationally excepted standards and the patent holder (Samsung) is obligated to grant licenses to third parties. Florian Mueller, an active patent consultant, believes that an injunction won't happen unless Apple refuses to pay up if royalties are owed to Samsung.

“Should it turn out that Apple entered the market without taking licenses to essential patents, then that’s indefensible and Apple should pay,” ..."However, it doesn’t justify an abuse of standards-essential patents. Asking for an injunction is an abuse unless the request for the injunction is limited to the scenario in which the defendant doesn’t accept to pay FRAND royalties.”

Samsung may be growing more aggressive with Apple due to the fact that Apple has taken some of their display business elsewhere. Apple was Samsung's number two customer last year so that could have a lot to do with why Samsung hasn't filed patent suits in the past.

But at the end of the day Apple will probably just pay the royalties if ordered to and there will still be iPhones and iPads equipped with 3G for all.

Macworld

There will be no delays as Apple has just confirmed iPad 2 will be available this Friday, March 25 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. Just like the US launch, online orders will begin a 1am (they don't say which time zone?) and in store purchases will be available starting 5pm local time.

While competitors are still struggling to catch up with our first iPad, we’ve changed the game again with iPad 2,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’re experiencing amazing demand for iPad 2 in the US, and customers around the world have told us they can't wait to get their hands on it. We appreciate everyone’s patience and we are working hard to build enough iPads for everyone.”

Apple also announced that iPad 2 will be available in Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and additional countries in April.

If you're having trouble deciding if you want an iPad 2, or which of the 12 models you want (no CDMA versions outside the US), check out our iPad 2 buyers guide and full on iPad 2 review. Then let us know what country you're in and whether you're ordering online or lining up!

[Apple PR]

Steve Jobs dropped the July 30 date for next big rollout during the iPhone 4 press conference but now Apple has gone and made it official:

Beginning this Friday, customers can purchase iPhone 4 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. iPhone 4 will be available for purchase through Apple’s retail and online stores and Apple® Authorized Resellers.

Nice to see, but we'd still prefer pre-orders, reservations, Apple Online Store updates to say something other than "coming soon", official word on when Apple Retail Stores will be open, information from carriers on upgrade eligibility, MicroSIM availability, plans, etc.

You know, everything else required for a launch...!

Apple announced today that the iPad, already released in the US and scheduled for a wider release internationally in May, will be coming to Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore in July.

No word on pre-orders or pricing yet, but Apple says that's coming at a later date.

If you're in one of those countries -- are you waiting for late July, did you get a US model already, or are you still waiting to be sold on the iPad?

[Apple]

T-Mobile CEO Hamid Akhavan, speaking to Focus, revealed that Big Magenta(TM) has sold 120,000 iPhone 3G units since it went on sale July 11. The breakdown included 75,000 for Germany with the remainder being gobbled up in the Netherlands and Austria.

This may sound small considering Apple previously reported 1 million iPhone 3Gs sold over launch weekend alone. However, AT&T has said the iPhone 3G was selling twice as fast as last year, which seems in line with these numbers, given T-Mo "only" managed to sell 100,000 of the first generation iPhone 2G during the two previous quarters combined. (Though bringing an EDGE handset to a trans-Euro 3G fight probably wasn't a winning strategy back then, eh, Apple?)

Add these numbers together with the total 70+ launches scheduled for this year, and the probably huge holiday sales season still to come, and Apple might just make shatter that 10 million sales goal of theirs for this year-- if not bite considerably into that rumored 45 million handset order for next...

If they can keep them in stock... and on network. Anyone using an iPhone 3G on T-Mobile? Easy to find on the shelves? Getting good data connections?

(via Ars Technica)

Current German and Austrian iPhone carrier, T-Mobile pushes its way into the lowlands with news on their upcoming Netherlands iPhone 3G rates:

Cheaper plans start at €29,95 for 150 min, 150 SMS, and unlimited data, with €79.95 for an 8GB handset, and €159.95 for 16GB.

Premium plans end at €64.95 for 500/500/unlimited, with €1 for an 8GB and €19.95 for the 16GB.

T-Mobile WiFi Hotspot access is also thrown in gratis.

Read

Apple Insider points us to two fresh rumors on iPhone launches. First up, in what could be the second North American appearance of El Jobso's revolutionary little phone:

The Mexico City newspaper El Universal alleged on Thursday that multiple dialogs with Apple support would have the iPhone launch on Mexican carrier Telcel in June, in time for Apple's planned version 2.0 firmware.

Next, a potential sixth (6th!) launch for the mighty Europe, this time in the Netherlands:

Meanwhile, Dutch Apple reseller The Innovators also posted teasers the same day for a special event to take place on March 29th at 11AM local time. The third-party store was mum on details but dropped hints that it would present on a product that had previously been unsold in the Netherlands and would make it easy to place calls.

Admittedly pretty thin, if any of these rumors come true, it would bring our score to:

Could Mexico and the Netherlands be getting their multi-touch on come June? Or are these the weakest rumors yet? What do you think?