EU Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

EU Justice Commissioner: AppleCare violates member states' laws

by Michael Grothaus (Mar 19th, 2013)

EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding blasted Apple in a speech in Brussels today and urged EU member states to ensure that Apple complies with consumer protection laws, which require consumer electronics devices to come with a mandatory two-year warranty. "This case and the responses I ...

Apple's warranty practices questioned in Belgium

by Kelly Hodgkins (Jan 15th, 2013)

Belgian consumer watchdog agency, Test-Aankoop/Test-Achats, is not happy with the AppleCare protection plans offered to customers who purchase Apple hardware. The group has filed a complaint that claims Apple doesn't properly explain consumer rights when it markets and sells these warranties to ...

Italian authorities fine Apple again over warranties

by Mike Wehner (Dec 21st, 2012)

By now, Apple should be pretty familiar with Italy's standards regarding product warranties, but it seems that despite already being fined roughly $1.2 million, the company's troubles are not over. AppleInsider reports that after being hit with the fine, Apple continued to push AppleCare's ...

Apple settles with EU over e-book pricing, hands Amazon a victory

by Steven Sande (Dec 13th, 2012)

Apple's long battle with European Union regulators over e-book pricing has ended with Apple and four publishers offering to let retailers set prices or discounts for the next two years and suspend "most-favored nation" contracts for five years. The EU responded positively to the news. ...

Apple won't sell AppleCare in Italy, updates warranty terms on website

by Steven Sande (Nov 12th, 2012)

Apple and Italy's Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (Competition and Market Authority) have been at odds for a while over the AppleCare Protection Plan. The European Union requires sellers to provide a two-year mandatory warranty on products, and fined Apple US$1.2 million ...

Reuters: Apple, Amazon e-book battle in EU nearing a conclusion

by Steven Sande (Nov 6th, 2012)

Source have told Reuters that EU regulators are going to accept an offer by Apple and four publishers to end antitrust investigations into their e-book pricing schemes. This result essentially cedes a victory to Amazon, which will be able to sell online books for less than its ...

EU Digital Commissioner requests better European 4G Rollout

by Steven Sande (Oct 2nd, 2012)

Apple and other device makers keep upping the ante on speed by building support for LTE into their latest devices, but that's of little use to citizens of several countries of the European Union. In many cases, their countries have no 4G networks or operate on frequencies not currently ...

Apple secures EU ban on Galaxy Tab 7.7

by Steven Sande (Jul 24th, 2012)

Apple's legal team may be doing a happy dance today, after a German court issued an injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 tablet. The injunction will ban sales of the small tablet in the entire European Union; it was already off the shelves in Germany. The court found that the design ...

EU launches antitrust probes against Motorola after complaints from Apple, Microsoft

by Kelly Hodgkins (Apr 3rd, 2012)

Apple and Microsoft filed separate complaints with the EU that accuse Motorola of using its essential, standards-based patents as weapons to curb competitor's products and advance their own, says a report in The New York Times. Under EU law, companies with patents essential to an industry ...

Apple targets Galaxy S II, other Samsung phones in new German suit

by Kelly Hodgkins (Jan 17th, 2012)

According to a Bloomberg report, Apple filed a new lawsuit in Germany that targets ten of Samsung's Android handsets. This new suit gives Apple a fresh start to argue for its EU design rights, which were recently called into question by Germany's Dusseldorf Court. It also gives the company an ...

Apple says Motorola patent win won't deter holiday sales

by Michael Grothaus (Dec 12th, 2011)

Last Friday Motorola won a default judgment in Germany blocking the sale of iPad 3G's and all iPhones before the iPhone 4S in Germany. The court sided with Motorola after the company successfully argued that Apple violated one of its 3G patents. The ruling was a blow to Apple, especially since ...

Apple unveils dock to micro USB adapter to comply with EU standards

by Chris Rawson (Oct 4th, 2011)

European Union regulations require cell phone vendors to include micro USB connectors as a means of standardizing charging options for cell phones, a necessary move to cut down on the plethora of mutually incompatible charging options that have proliferated through the mobile phone industry. Rather ...

Apple TV coming to seven more countries next week

by Mike Schramm (Sep 30th, 2011)

Apple's little black set-top box is due to arrive in seven more countries next week, according to a release from Apple sent to MacRumors. Belgium, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland are all on the list of those receiving the device for sale, so if you're in one of ...

German ban on Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales upheld

by Kelly Hodgkins (Sep 9th, 2011)

Samsung was dealt a major setback today in Germany. A district court in Dusseldorf ruled that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is too similar to the iPad 2, and sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany will continue to be blocked. The decision also prevents Samsung's German subsidiary from selling the tablet ...

German court upholds injunction against Samsung tablets

by Michael Grothaus (Aug 25th, 2011)

Samsung just got some more bad news. A German court has upheld an earlier preliminary injunction on the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Now Germany joins most of the rest of the EU on the list of countries that ban Samsung from selling its tablet. The injunction came as a result of Apple's legal moves to stop ...