Apple loses iPad patent lawsuit to small Spanish tablet manufacturer

David Swan
Thursday, 03 November 2011 11:25

Your IT - Mobility

A small Spanish tablet manufacturer has managed to defend its Android tablet patents in court against the monolithic Apple, which may have far-reaching implications across the globe.

 

The tablet computer maker, named Nuevas Tecnologías y Energías Catalá, has managed to defend its Android-based tablets in court and is now seeking damages from Apple for a temporary seizure of its products by Spanish customs.

The tiny company has also filed an antitrust complaint against Apple, alleging anticompetitive behaviour.

The company markets its tablets under the label nt-k, in a town called Quart de Poblet, which has a population of approximately 25,500.

The news comes from a blog post from Foss Patents, which explains Apple accused nt-k in November 2010 of "copying" the iPad and went straight for a customs ban.

Following this, Spanish customs seized shipments from China containing nt-k's Android-based tablet.

Nuevas Tecnologías y Energías Catalá eveb temporarily appeared on an EU-wide list of product pirates, and Apple also brought criminal charges on December 9, 2010.

These actions have led the small Spanish company to allege anticompetitive behaviour in a counter-claim, the outcome of which has yet to be decided.

The lawsuit has implications for Apple and other lawsuits around the globe, due to the fact Apple asserted the same design-related right, a so-called Community design, with which it won two injunctions against Samsung in Germany, but lost in the Netherlands.

The decision follows a similar landmark decision in Australia, in which the NSW federal court blocked all sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 device across the country, due to an alleged patent infringement.

That decision was also very similar to a German court's findings, which led to the Galaxy Tab 10.1 being banned there, too.

Courts across the world may now look to the Spanish decision as an example of Apple not being able to claim the iPad design as being exclusive.

Yesterday, the company behind the nt-k brand published anassertive and triumphant post (in Spanish) to its corporate blog, commenting on the ruling by a local court.

The patent decision, while relatively modest in scope, may have far greater consequences for Apple in the ongoing worldwide patent war.