Apple has been hammering Samsung in courts around the world for patent infringement and has made some surprising success. In the latest round, Samsung has been forced to put the Galaxy Tab 10.1′s Australian debut on hold at least until the end of September.
“Samsung has agreed to delay the launch of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 pending the court’s decision in the week commencing September 26, 2011,” it said in a statement. “It should be noted that the court has not issued an injunction against the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1, and the court did not make any ruling during today’s hearing.”
“Following today’s hearing in the Federal Court of Australia, Samsung has agreed to delay the launch of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 pending the court’s decision in the week commencing September 26, 2011,” Samsung said in a written statement.
Australia is now the second country, after Germany, where Apple has managed to prevent Samsung from launching its Galaxy Tab 10.1 on schedule. In a statement on Monday, Samsung said it volunteered not to sell the tablet any earlier than September 30, even though it was scheduled to launch on September 12.
In early August Apple Australia convinced the same judge to delay Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 launch, claiming the tablet infringed on various elements of the Apple iPad 2. At the time Samsung’s Australian counsel said Apple was basing its claims on the U.S. model, and Samsung agreed to hand to Apple several models of the Australian prototype, which it did last Thursday.
On Monday Apple conceded that although the Australian model does not violate all the same patents, it said at least two were still infringed, according to ITnews. The two parties will reconvene for a hearing on 26 September to hear Apple’s new, detailed motion, although “explanatory hearings” are scheduled for this Friday, according to ZNet Australia.
Patent blogger Florian Mueller thinks this could have broader implications on Apple vs. Samsung lawsuits around the world. “In legal terms, the judge in California (where Apple is seeking a preliminary injunction against four Samsung products) will take her decision independently from whatever rulings are handed in Australia and the E.U. Still, Apple’s ‘copycat’ story benefits from each and every bit of progress the company makes against Samsung,” Mueller wrote in a blog post.
Last week, a Dutch court imposed an E.U.-wide preliminary injunction against Samsung Galaxy smartphones. Samsung, meanwhile, cited the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey in its defense against Apple here in the states.
The first patent dispute between Apple and Samsung began in April, when Apple sued Samsung for copying the look and feel of its iPhone and iPad in its flagship Galaxy S line of smartphones and tablets, among other devices. Samsung responded with a countersuit that targeted Apple for infringing on five patents relating to wireless networking technology.
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