Australia bans sales of Samsung's newest tablet
13 October 2011
by Stephen Gregory
Samsung has suffered another blow to the launch of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 device, as Australia became the latest market to ban the sale of the device while a patent dispute with Apple continues.
The dispute between Apple and Samsung over the electronic tablet device has raged for many months in countries across the world, including Germany and the US.
Apple contest that the tablet infringes 7 different patents held on the touch screen technology of their own iPad line of tablets, as well as on the iPhone. Samsung and Apple spent much of 2010 negotiating a resolution to the dispute, but they were unable to reach an accord.
This battle is not over for Samsung – the ban is a temporary one, in place until Australian courts can reach a definitive decision on the validity of Apple’s claims. However, the ban could be a very damaging one, as it prevents Samsung from selling the device in the lucrative lead up to Christmas.
The South Korean based company has been at the centre of numerous patent battles across the globe in recent months. The Galaxy 10.1 has been effectively banned in Europe and the USA already, and Apple has begun similar proceedings in Japan.
Samsung launched their own offensive against Apple last week, declaring their intention to block the sale of the Apple iPhone 4S in Europe. Samsung filed injunctions in Italy and France, claiming that Apple had infringed Samsung patents on wireless technology.
Meanwhile, Samsung agreed to pay Microsoft royalties for every Samsung device that used Google’s Android platform, a platform that Microsoft has long claimed to be the product of several patent infringements.
Samsung has 14 days from Friday to appeal against the Australian ruling, an opportunity they have promised to take. Samsung were offered the chance of a quick resolution by the presiding judge, which may have given Samsung the chance to release the device in time for Christmas – however, they opted to delay the ruling, apparently feeling that missing the festive season in the Australian market was preferable to pushing the case to a conclusion without further time to develop their defence.
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