Apple Inc. lost a court bid to ban sales of Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy 10.1N tablet computer, a modified version of the original 10.1 model that was blocked in Germany.

The Dusseldorf appeals court judges backed a lower court ruling that had rejected the bid in February, the tribunal’s spokesman Klaus Schumacher said in an interview Tuesday. The court granted a separate Apple bid for a ban on Samsung’s Galaxy 7.7 tablet in all 27 member states of the European Union.

Apple has been fighting tablet competitors in courts across the globe for about a year. The iPad maker scored a victory in January when a ban on sales of the earlier Galaxy 10.1 model was upheld by the Dusseldorf appeals judges. A U.K. judge ruled earlier this month the 10.1 tablet doesn’t infringe Apple patents, while U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in June issued an order blocking U.S. sales of the device.

While Samsung welcomed the decision on the 10.1N in an e- mailed statement, the company said it would “continue to take all available measures, including legal action” to protect its intellectual property rights after the ruling on the Galaxy 7.7.

Apple’s German press office declined to comment.