Apple said in the Court of the Hague on Friday that Samsung should be banned from selling Android Galaxy devices in the Netherlands because Samsung infringes on a multitouch patent called "". The patent describes technology that prevents smartphone users from pushing two buttons at the same time on the screen, such as the play and the delete button in a music application.

In addition to a sales ban, Apple wants the judge to order a recall of all Galaxy devices that run Android 2.3 and higher from Dutch distributors and resellers. A sales ban in the Netherlands could also have an E.U.-wide effect because Samsung's distribution center is located in the Netherlands.

Both iOS and Android devices can disable touch input in certain areas of the screen when an application developer deems it necessary to do so to avoid undesirable input. Apple developed a way to prevent unwanted touches by giving each "view," an element of the user interface, exclusivity. Android uses a similar system that is more hierarchical, and doesn't only apply to one "view," Samsung's lawyers said.

While Apple's technology is a "very nice invention," the technique used in Android differs from the iOS solution, argued Bas Berghuis van Woortman, one of Samsung's lawyers. Because the Android based method is more hierarchical the system is more complex and therefore harder for developers to use, he said.

In addition, Apple devices disallow touch input in sections of the screen on the OS level, while Android does that on the application level, he said. Both are reasons Samsung's Android devices do not infringe on the patent, he added.