Samsung's Galaxy 10.1 tablet may actually go on sale in Australia after a court lifted its ban on the device, but still faces challenges overseas from Apple.
The tablet had been under an injunction since earlier this fall, after a lower Australian court agreed to stop the device's sale until Samsung and Apple, which both are claiming patent infringement, appear for trial.
However, on Tuesday an Australian federal court unanimously lifted the injunction, but granted Apple a stay on lifting the sales ban until Friday afternoon.
The ruling was a rare one in favor of Samsung in its long-running legal battle with Apple over its devices, but the victory may be short-lived. The stay gives Apple two days to file an appeal on the decision, and another court may still rule to restore the injunction.
Justice Lindsay Foster told the court he would grant a stay on orders until early Friday morning, noting Apple would have to go to the nation's High Court if it wants the ban extended. Apple has not settled any of its cases against Samsung easily, so the South Korean company's devices may still not make it to Australian stores' shelves if Apple petitions the upper courts.
Samsung doesn't have a large share in the Australian market, and even though the Galaxy tablet is one of the leading alternatives to the iPad, it may have trouble catching up with Apple's device at this late date. The iPad has been on sale in Australia for several months, and with the holiday shopping season already underway, Samsung may have little time to launch a marketing campaign for the device.
Samsung may have eked out a temporary legal victory over its rival in its protracted legal battle, but Apple still is waging a fierce fight in other markets. Apple Monday filed a preliminary injunction request in Germany to ban sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1N, a version of the tablet that was retooled to get around the original ban.
A German court will hear Apple's ban request on December 22, and the Samsung device could be banned not only in Germany, but also the European Union.
Apple's German action may thwart Samsung's strategy to retool its devices to avoid using the patents in question. The company has already gotten around a similar ban in the Netherlands by making its design different, but Apple claims Samsung "slavishly" copies its designs, and the new action in Germany likely won't be the first time Apple goes after Samsung's new designs as well as its old ones.
Both the Australian and German cases show Apple and Samsung's battles, which now are raging in 10 countries including the U.S., are far from over. Even small victories, such as Samsung's ban reprieve, may be only temporary, and neither company appears likely to back down soon.
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