Samsung Galaxy Phones Banned in Europe

A judge in the Netherlands has ruled that Samsung's Galaxy line of phones infringes on Apple's patents, and thusly has banned it from being sold in the Netherlands. Due to agreements within the EU, this effectively bans the phone from sale in all of Europe. The ban will start in mid October.

The ruling also means that almost all other Android manufacturers are vulnerable to a patent lawsuit, as many of the infringing patents were found within Android OS. When you look at phones or tablets before and after iOS, it's obvious to see that Apple's tech has been imitated by the rest of the industry. Whether or not that imitation is enough for infringement on the part of other manufacturers has yet to be decided.

While this may initially seem like it would be bad for the free market, keep in mind that in the tech world, imitation isn't flattering. Imitation can be lost business, and unhappy customers with their product that is "like an iPhone". Forcing manufacturers to be innovative, however, pushes the industry forward. Remember what phones were like before the iPhone? Innovation and creativity created the iPhone. We'll never get the "next great thing" if companies can get away with simply copying each other. 

via AppleInsider