An existing ban on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 in Germany was expanded Tuesday, July 24, to include the entire European Union. The court ruled, however, that Samsung can continue to sell its Galaxy Tab 10.1N in the region.

Until the court ruling on Tuesday, the Galaxy Tab 7.7 was banned only in Germany for infringing on an Apple design patent. The Dusseldorf Higher Regional Court, however, decided to expand the ban to include all of the European Union member states.

"Samsung is disappointed with the court's ruling. We will continue to take all available measures, including legal action, to protect our intellectual property rights and defend against Apple's claims to ensure our products remain available to consumers throughout the European Union," said a Samsung spokeswoman.

Samsung did, however, emerge victorious with the Galaxy Tab 10.1N, which will continue to be available in Germany. The Galaxy Tab 10.1N came in the middle of a patent war between Apple and Samsung over the original Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. Apple sued Samsung over the tablet, as well as the company's Galaxy S line of smartphones, claiming the devices copied the look and feel of the iPad and iPhone.

The Dusseldorf Court agreed with Apple on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 infringement, and issued a preliminary injunction order against the tablet back in August last year. Samsung introduced the Galaxy Tab 10.1N as a midfield tablet designed to work around the ban. The midfield device features a metal frame bezel that wraps around the edge of the tablet, but Apple still claimed the 10.1N infringed on the iPad's design as well. The German court tossed that claim back in February, allowing Samsung to sell the 10.1N tablet. Apple appealed that decision, but the court now ruled again in Samsung's favor.

"Samsung welcomes the court's ruling, which confirms our position that the Galaxy Tab 10.1N does not infringe Apple's intellectual property and does not infringe laws against unfair competition," said Samsung. "Should Apple continue to make legal claims based on such a generic design patent, design innovation and progress in the industry could be restricted."

On the other hand, all these decisions are still preliminary. "The final decision has not even been made by the court yet, and it will also be possible to appeal that one," patent expert and blogger Florian Mueller wrote in a blog post. "In the full-blown main proceeding, Apple is targeting a total of five Samsung tablets (and in a separate case, 10 Samsung smartphones). While the outcome of the main proceeding is likely going to be consistent with the appeals court's fast-track ruling, it's legally possible that the court changes mind."