German courts will hear Samsung appeal on Galaxy Tab ban

Just days after a German court issued an injunction that halted sales of Samsung's 10.1-inch Galaxy Tab tablet across the European Union, the Korean electronics manufacturer won the right to appeal. The company will appear in court on August 25 in Dusseldorf to argue its case.

Apple was successful August 9 in getting the court to agree that Samsung's larger Galaxy Tab copies the iPad's design. The injunction is effective across the EU's 27 member-states save for the Netherlands, where Apple launched a separate case. The judge in that case says he expects to rule by Monday.

Some partners in the EU said that they would continue to sell the Tab until Samsung tells them not to, or noted that their devices were variants of the main 10.1-inch model and thus not covered under the injunction.

It's not clear whether or not the judge would be able to rule at that time. Representatives with the court said it could take up to two weeks for him to render any kind of decision. That could mean the Tab may be unavailable in Europe for as long as a month if not more.

Samsung will also have to battle for the right to sell the device here in the US as well as Australia: Apple is attempting to win similar injunctions in those markets. The Cupertino company was actually successful in Australia from getting Samsung to voluntarily halt sales of the device until courts decide the merits of the case.