Samsung recently suffered a setback in its patent-infringement battle against Apple in Germany; with the Mannheim Court turning down the South Korean device manufacturer's request to block the text-to-voice feature of its US rival's popular iPhone handset, claiming violation of one of its patents.

The German court's denial of Samsung's request to block the iPhone's text-to-voice feature underscores a very significant court ruling because the disputed feature involves software that is accessible to blind people; and has thus been highly commended by advocates for the blind and visually-impaired smartphone users.

While Samsung was seeking an injunction in a German court by putting forth the argument that Apple's VoiceOver screen-access facility had violated one of its patents, the judge has ordered that the case be suspended because a pending court verdict could likely invalidate Samsung's claim.

With Apple's VoiceOver function essentially facilitating the blind and visually-impaired users to hear a description of what is being displayed on the iPhone when its screen is touched, Samsung had argued that Apple was using the feature without licencing a Samsung-owned patent which describes pressing a button to make a handset illustrate its display.

Disappointed with the Mannheim Court's verdict, Samsung said in a statement: "We continue to believe that Apple has infringed our patented mobile technologies, and we will continue to take the measures necessary to protect our intellectual property rights."