Samsung wins Australian round of legal battle against Apple

Samsung has won the latest round in its epic legal war with rival tech giant Apple. An Australian court upheld the South Korean giant’s appeal against a temporary ban on sales of its Galaxy 10.1 tablet device.

The ban was put in place after a ruling that Samsung had violated several of Apple’s patents in the manufacture of the device.

The war between the two has spanned the globe, with suit following countersuit in Switzerland, The Netherlands, Germany, and the USA.

The German ban saw Samsung claiming that it had modified the Galaxy 10.1 in order avoid the copyright breach.

The victory was, however, tempered by the fact that Apple won a stay of orders meaning that the ban will stay in effect until the early hours of Friday morning.

Sales of the device will also come with a number of conditions. According to the judge who handed down the ruling, Justice Lindsay Davis:

“Samsung will be permitted to launch the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia provided it keeps accounts of all transactions involving that device in Australia or originating from Australia.”

Samsung has welcomed the decision. “We believe the ruling clearly affirms that Apple’s legal claims lack merit,” it said.

In its ruling, the court expressed doubt that allowing Samsung to sell its devices in the country would infringe on Apple’s patent rights in the country.

This places significant doubt on Apple’s prospects of success, should it choose to continue pursuing its case against Apple in Australia.

“We have referred to a number of difficulties that confront Apple in making good its case on infringement. It may well be that, on a final hearing, Apple will meet these difficulties. But difficulties they are,” the court said.

It also noted that the temporary ban had already dug fairly deep into the life cycle of Samsung’s device.

“Although not so as a matter of law, the practical effect of those injunctions is to deliver to Apple complete victory in respect of its claims for final injunctions in respect of that device,” it said.

The legal battles have somewhat soured a previously amicable relationship between the two companies.

Prior to the war, Samsung was responsible for the manufacture of a number of the components for Apple’s iPhones and iPad tablets. Apple believes that it was in the course of this agreement that Samsung got hold of the patent technologies the latter is claimed to have stolen.

Although Apple “shot first” as it were, Samsung has since fired back with suits of its own, most notably in its home country, South Korea.