Samsung's modified Galaxy Tab for the German market—the 10.1N—seems to be sufficiently different than the iPad in design and likely won't face an injunction, a judge said on Thursday. Judge Johanna Brueckner-Hofmann made the statement during a hearing in Germany over the modified device, implying that the Dusseldorf court may rule in Samsung's favor when the decision deadline rolls around on February 9.

After Apple won an initial ruling against Samsung's Galaxy Tab in Germany earlier this year, Samsung redesigned the tablet slightly in order to inch itself away from the iPad's design. The Galaxy Tab 10.1N was designed only for the German market—the most prominent change being the metal frame around the edge of the device that now wraps around the front instead of laying flat—but Apple still raised complaints, filing for an injunction against the 10.1N in November.

Despite Apple's complaint, however, Judge Brueckner-Hoffman disagreed. "According to the court's assessment, the defendant has moved away sufficiently from the legally protected design," she said at the hearing, according to Reuters. She added that the court doesn't believe anyone is buying a Samsung tablet when they think they are getting an iPad, according to Bloomberg BusinessWeek. "[C]onsumers are well aware that there is an original and that competitors try to use similar designs, so buyers are vigilant when looking at products."