Samsung Galaxy 10.1N cleared for sale in Germany

The legal battle is over for the Galaxy Tab 10.1N in Germany as the state court in Dusseldorf handed down a ruling that states there are "clear differences" between the Samsung tablet and Apple's iPad, reports Reuters.

Apple initially won a permanent sales ban against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in September, 2011, which forced Samsung to create the 10.1N, a device meant to bypass the injunction by changing certain aesthetic features shared with the iPad.

The "new" tablet was released in November and effectively skirts the injunction, which was upheld in January.

Samsung's Android-based tablet is seen as a direct competitor to the ubiquitous iPad, and today's German win adds to Apple's recent court losses to ban the device in the U.S., the Netherlands and Australia.

The two companies are ensnarled in a worldwide patent dispute that includes suits in the U.S., Australia, Japan, Korea and Europe after the Cupertino, Calif., company first attacked in April, alleging that a number of Samsung's mobile phones and tablets infringed on intellectual property rights.

Samsung has filed counter-suits against Apple in Germany regarding cellular technology patents, though the Galaxy maker has already lost two cases with a third scheduled for decision in March.