Apple/Samsung patent hearing set for 25 August

Samsung will appear before a German court later this month in a bid to overturn a ban on it selling flagship Galaxy tablets in most of the European Union.

Earlier this week, a Duesseldorf court temporarily barred Samsung from selling its tablets, following an injunction filed by Apple which had said the Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets "slavishly" copied its iPad and iPhone.

In a global intellectual property battle, Apple has also sued Samsung in the US, Australia and elsewhere.

The 25 August hearing will be followed by a decision, likely within a few weeks.

Samsung, whose tablets are based on Google's Android software, has countersued Apple.

Apple has also filed an injunction at a court in The Hague on three patent, copyright and design infringements, to stop the sale of some Samsung products in the Netherlands and block their distribution in the EU via the Netherlands.

Dutch judge Edger Brinkman told the court on Thursday he would decide on the case by 15 September, adding that if he ruled in Apple's favour, the injunction would come into effect four weeks later, on 13 October.