Ban on Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 reversed by Australian Court, Apple to appeal

Last month, Apple won a preliminary injunction from an Australian court which in effect banned Samsung from selling its flagship tablet, the Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1, in the country. Apple had alleged that the Korean based manufacturer infringed upon its patents and the court initially agreed. Hoping to somehow salvage the holiday season, Samsung quickly appealed the ruling with the company's lawyer Neil Young (who does not have a "Heart of Gold") saying that the tablet was dead if it could not be offered for the holiday season.

As we reported last week, the Australian appeals court seemed to agree with Samsung's position that banning the tablet from being sold in the country was too harsh of a penalty to place on the Korean firm while the case makes it through the Australian legal system. And now Gizmodo Australia is reporting that on Wednesday, the Australian Federal Court overturned the injunction. Apple's legal team quickly sprung into action and within minutes of the ruling being announced, they announced Apple's plan to appeal the decision to the High Court. Apple requested that the injunction stay in place until its appeal is filed and the court agreed, issuing a "stay of order" that keeps the injunction in place and the tablet off the shelves until Friday, in order to give Apple time to file that appeal.

Apple and Samsung are involved in a number of legal battles. The Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 is permanently banned in Germany following a patent infringement case in that country and back in Australia, a full hearing is scheduled for March 2012 on Samsung's claim that the Apple iPhone and Apple iPad infringe on patents owned by Samsung.

source: GizmodoAustralia via AppleInsider