Apple loses again in Dutch suit against Samsung

AMSTERDAM A Dutch court has again ruled against Apple Inc. (AAPL) in a suit against South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co., saying that Galaxy tablet computers don't infringe an Apple patent on touch screen interfaces.

The Dutch case is one of many Apple is pursuing against Samsung in their reciprocal patent war. If Apple had been successful in the Netherlands, it could have disrupted Samsung's ability to distribute in Europe through the port of Rotterdam.

Apple lost a request for a provisional ruling in August 2011, and an appeal in January. The Hague District Court's ruling published Thursday is a full-fledged civil suit on the same point. Like British and German courts, the Dutch court found that the touch screen interface Samsung's Galaxy tabs use does not violate Apple's patents.