Samsung says banning of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia was over the top, appeal judges seem to agree

The Appellate Court in Australia where Samsung's lawyers complained about unjust banning of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 slate seems somewhat sympathetic with the Koreans.

The injunction was issued by Justice Bennett October 12, and is valid until the patent infringement lawsuit is settled, which may be as late as next year. Samsung's lawyer Neil Young is now appealing that she did not really consider how badly the holiday sales miss will affect the market performance of the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Apple argued that an irreparable damage would be inflicted on its iPad 2 if Samsung's tablet hadn't been banned, which the appeal judges considered an over the top statement: "We’re talking about a period of three months and all of Apple will come tumbling down? That’s very speculative,” said Judge Dowsett. Another judge also sided with Samsung's story: “The result looks terribly fair to Apple and not terribly fair to Samsung,” commented Federal Court Justice Lindsay Foster during today's hearing to lift the ban.

The court hopes to have a ruling whether Justice Annabelle Bennett issued the injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 prematurely as early as next week, so there is still chance that the Koreans can salvage the holiday sales of the tablet if the stars are aligned in their favor. Not that some retailers aren't defying the ban anyway, but having the license to sell in writing is preferable.

source: Bloomberg