The legal dispute between Samsung and Apple has taken another interesting twist, resulting in the newly-announced Galaxy Tab 7.7 being removed from IFA following a second injunction from a Dusseldorf court on 2 September. 

The court ruling bans Samsung from sales and marketing of the new tablet, hence Samsung’s action. We’d speculated in the run up to IFA whether Samsung would be able to display their entire portfolio.

Prior to IFA, Florian Mueller, whose Foss Patents Blog has extensive coverage of the ongoing spat, told Pocket-lint via email that: "They won't be able to show the Galaxy Tab 10.1 as long as the preliminary injunction in Germany is in force, and since the court has scheduled the announcement of its decision for September 9, it's virtually certain that the injunction will be in force during IFA."

Stickers reading "This Product is currently not available in Germany” on the Samsung exhibit seemed to be a precautionary measure, but to no avail once the show had opened to the public and a second injunction on the 7.7 landed.

Fortunately, Samsung was able to launch the new device, so it has been previewed widely in the tech press - including our own coverage which you can read here - but visitors will leave disappointed not to have seen what is arguably one of the highlights of the show.

"Samsung respects the court’s decision", James Chung of Samsung told Bloomberg, before making it clear that Samsung would "pursue all available options" to defend themselves. We get the feeling this isn't going to be over any time soon.

Intellectual property matters aside, there is no doubting that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 is a stunning device. It will be a real shame if this legal dispute restricts customer choice in this fiercely competitive area.