Apple was denied an injunction against Samsung's Galaxy Nexus and the adjusted Galaxy Tab 10.1N by the higher court of Munich on Thursday, a court spokesman said.
The patent in dispute is related to a "list scrolling and document translation, scaling, and rotation on a touch-screen display." Apple lost a lawsuit about the same patent last February when the lower regional court of Munich deemed the patent invalid because it didn't include anything new.
Apple appealed that verdict but the higher court on Thursday confirmed the ruling, said Philipp Stoll, spokesman for the higher regional court of Munich.
Samsung welcomed the ruling, which it said "confirms our position that the Galaxy Nexus, the Galaxy Tab 10.1N, and the Galaxy Tab 10.1N WiFi do not infringe Apple's intellectual property."
"Apple has been trying to limit consumer choice and discourage innovation through their excessive and flawed legal arguments. Despite Apple's legal attacks against our user interface, we will continue to further develop and introduce products that enhance the lives of German consumers," Samsung stated.
Apple declined to comment on the ruling.
In a case centering on design, Apple was granted a European ban on the Galaxy Tab 7.7 by the higher regional court of Dusseldorf on Tuesday, when the court decided that Samsung's tablet looked too much like the iPad and infringed on Apple's design rights.
The higher court, however, also ruled on Tuesday that the Galaxy Tab 10.1N is sufficiently altered and does not infringe on Apple's design rights. The Tab 10.1N is an adjusted version of the original Tab 10.1 that was found to infringe on Apple's design rights in Germany and was subsequently banned in the country. The Dusseldorf higher court confirmed the decision that the lower regional court of Dû³¥¬¤orf made earlier this year and declared that the Galaxy Tab 10.1N can legally be sold in Germany.
Loek covers all things tech for the IDG News Service. Follow him on Twitter at @loekessers or email tips and comments to loek_essers@idg.com