Samsung banned from selling some smartphones in Netherlands

BRUSSELS (Yonhap News) -- A Dutch court on Wednesday issued a preliminary injunction against the sale of smartphones by South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. in the Netherlands in a patent dispute raised by U.S. electronics manufacturer Apple Inc.

The injunction, issued by a district court in the Hague, applies to only Samsung's Galaxy line of smartphones and will take effect from Oct. 13, according to the court.

The decision could undermine Samsung's operation in all of Europe as its primary European logistics hub is located in the Netherlands.

A German court issued a Europe-wide sales ban on Samsung's tablet computer Galaxy Tab earlier in the month on Apple's claim that the South Korean manufacturer violated its patents. The court later reversed the injunction, limiting the sales ban to only Germany and the Netherlands where a separate trial was under way.