In an act that could be classified as part of a larger global legal war between Apple and Samsung, a German court banned Korean firm Samsung from selling an iPad-like computer tablet in Germany, ruling it had emulated the iPad.

The court, in the west German city of Duesseldorf, substantiated that Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 computer, a rival to Apple's iconic iPad, had breached cornerstone intellectual property laws.

Judge Johanna Brueckner-Hoffmann said there was a "clear impression of similarity" between the Apple and the Samsung products.

To illustrate with an example, she examined the "minimalist, modern form" of the two firms' products, which include flat screens and rounded edges.

The court limited the sales ban to Germany, despite ruling in a previous judgment that the ban should be Europe-wide.

The court ruled that "it could only be competent to order a Europe-wide ban for a firm headquartered outside the European Union if this firm has a German subsidiary," it said in a statement.

A spokesman for Apple declined to comment on the judgment.

Samsung said: "We are disappointed with this ruling and believe it severely limits consumer choice in Germany."

The firm added: "Samsung will actively and immediately appeal this ruling to protect our intellectual property rights."

The Korean firm, which denies Apple's argument that it had "slavishly" copied the market-leading iPhone and iPad, had to pull its latest Galaxy Tab 7.7 inch from a major electronics fair in Berlin because of the court case.

Analysts of the industry say that in the fast-moving world of tablet computers, which have a very short shelf-life before being replaced by improved products, even a temporary ban on sales can be fatal.

"This decision is a catastrophe for competition, for the whole industry but it's not over yet," according to technology expert Sascha Pallenberg..

"The judge basically said that only Apple is allowed to sell thin square tablets with round edges. That's just insane," he further added.

The two firms are also l waging legal battles in Australia, the United States and Asia.

Samsung has responded to Apple's accusations by filing suits in Seoul, asking for a ban on sales of the US firm's products in South Korea.

The tussle began in April when Apple filed a suit accusing Samsung of copying its smartphones and tablet computers.

Samsung responded with a claim in Seoul alleging five patent infringements by Apple.

The US company retaliated in July by asking the US International Trade Commission to block imports to the United States of some of Samsung's smartphones and tablet computers.

In the Netherlands, a court in the Hague banned three Samsung telephone models on August 24 following an Apple suit. Samsung launched a counter-claim, due to be heard by the same court on September 26.

And Pallenberg said it would not really stop consumers from getting their hands on the product if they were determined enough.

"Anyone who really wants to have this tablet can just buy it abroad," he said.

Samsung's Galaxy Tab, has been coined by industry experts as an "iPad killer", due to it having been a huge-selling rival to the touch-screen phenomenon.

Despite their tense competition, the two still have a close business relationship.

Apple was Samsung's second-biggest client in 2010 after Japan's Sony, accounting for four per cent of the South Korean firm's 155 trillion won ($A137.5 billion) annual revenue.