Earlier today, a German court ruled in favor of Apple, claiming the Galaxy Tab tablet by Samsung has "a clear impression of similarity" to Apple's iPad.

Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1. Photo courtesy of Creative Commons.

After months of patent battles, Germany's ruling on banning the device is a big step forward for Apple. In August, Samsung was blocked from selling the Galaxy Tab in all EU countries except the Netherlands, but was able to successfully fight it.

Thanks to this new ban, Samsung will not be able to distribute or sell any remaining inventory of their device in Germany.

According to Guardian, Samsung will try to fight this injunction:

In a statement, Samsung vowed to appeal the ruling and claimed it would have a harmful impact on consumer choice in Germany.

"We are disappointed with this ruling and believe it severely limits consumer choice in Germany," it said. "We also believe that by imposing an injunction based on this very generic design right, this ruling restricts design innovation and progress in the industry."

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