A judgment made in the Regional Court of Dusseldorf in Germany granted Apple a preliminary injunction barring the sale of Samsung's latest iPad-competing tablet, according to The Telegraph. The judge who made the decision has backed Apple's assertion that Samsung products infringe on the patented design of the iPad 2.

The decision means that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 has been barred from sale and marketing across all of Europe, except for the Netherlands. The device went on sale in the U.K. last week, but Samsung must now remove it from shelves and cease marketing it there as well.

"While Samsung can appeal against the judgment, the injunction will still stand in the meantime," author Shane Richmond wrote. "Any appeal would be heard in around four weeks' time and would be heard by the same judge."

The decision comes soon after a court in Australia also ruled in favor of Apple in a lawsuit alleging that Samsung has copied the look and feel of devices like the iPhone and iPad. That victory forced Samsung to delay the launch of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia.

The legal battle between the two technology giants began in April, when Apple sued Samsung in the U.S. and accused the company of violating patents relating to the iPhone and iPad.

In lawsuits with the U.S. International Trade Commission, both Samsung and Apple have asked that each others' products be banned from importation because of alleged patent infringement. But unlike in Europe and Australia, the ITC has not taken such drastic measures thus far in America.

The leading German news agency, dpa, just reported that Apple has been granted a preliminary injunction against Samsung's Android-based Galaxy Tab 10.1, barring with immediate effect all distribution of the product in the entire European Union except for the Netherlands on the grounds of an alleged infringement of Apple's iPad-related [European] Community design no. 000181607-0001. I can confirm that Apple has a separate lawsuit underway in the Netherlands as well, asserting the same Community design. This was also confirmed by a court in The Hague to Dutch website Webwereld. There are differences in competition law between Germany and the Netherlands, which is why Apple filed separate lawsuits. In Germany, Apple asserts not only an infringement of the said Community design but also cites unfair competition grounds, denouncing the Galaxy Tab as an iPad imitation.

“Australia was such an insignificant victory and, given the circumstances, Apple can’t possibly achieve the same sort of success in other regions,” we thought. That was until today where the sale of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 has been effectively blocked across Europe (specifically those who are part of the European Union) thanks to a win for Apple in Germany courts.

Samsung does have the chance to appeal the injunction, however the hearing wouldn’t take place for at least another month. The same judge who made today’s decision will be overseeing that appeal, so it looks like Samsung’s got their work cut out for them.

What makes the European loss sting even more for Samsung is that they’ve already made the device available for sale in the UK not too long ago and have launched a comprehensive advertising campaign to accompany. It’s obviously not a good situation when you have customers looking to buy an item they believed to be available and haven’t noticed the recent news.

Imagine a scenario where a patron goes into an electronics store looking for the Galaxy Tab 10.1, only to be told that it is no longer available. What does the store clerk do? Suggest they wait or suggest a different product, and 9 times out of 10 that product will be the iPad 2.

This is a major temporary victory for Apple, and a very huge blow to Samsung. The Korean manufacturer may soon be compelled to comply with Apple’s demands if they continue to receive injunctions in major markets (including the United States). The Netherlands is the only European country that Samsung can sell and advertise their product in.