New Apple move against Galaxy Tab on Euro front

Jobs wants rival slabs shipped back to Samsung right now

Apple has told the Dutch court it expects Samsung to write to all its European dealers recalling Galaxy phones and tablets, with stock to be returned within 14 days at Samsung's expense.

The letter, seen by Dutch publication Webwereld, requires all stocks to be immediately shipped back to the Netherlands (where Samsung handles its EU distribution). Apple also expects Samsung to remind retailers that if they don't return the stock they could be liable for infringing the same patents Apple is holding against the manufacturer.

The development is significant as the last ban, imposed by a German court on sales of the Tab 10.1, lasted less than a week before the court's EU-wide authority was called into question. So shops outside Germany hardly had time to take down the signs, and didn't bother anyway as it was far from clear if the ban would matter to them.

This is probably why Apple wants Samsung to make it absolutely clear that dealers could be liable if they don't have the gear wrapped up and ready to ship back within 14 days.

Not that Samsung is likely to concede any such point for a while; the next Dutch hearing isn't until the next week and there are still many battles to fight in this war. But the letter is an indication of how seriously Apple is taking the whole thing, and how much blood is going to have to be spilled before it's over. ®