Samsung's attempt to lift a ban on the sale of their Galaxy Tab 10.1 in America fell short on Monday as US District Judge Lucy Koh declined the South Korean giant's request. The rejection comes ahead of a planned patent trial later this month, according to Mercury News.
Koh originally declined Apple's request for injunction but Cupertino took the case to Federal Appeals Court. The court instructed the judge to reconsider her initial ruling and late last month, Koh banned the sale of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the US until a patent dispute between the two companies had been resolved.
"Samsung is disappointed with the court's decision that denied our motion to stay. We believe today's ruling will ultimately reduce the availability of superior technological features to consumers in the United States," Samsung said in a statement.
An Apple spokesperson stood by their claim that some Samsung products look very similar to the iPhone and iPad.
"Although Samsung has a right to compete, it does not have a right to compete unfairly, by flooding the market with infringing products," Koh noted during the ruling. Furthermore, she imposed a pre-trial ban on the sale or import of the Galaxy Nexus smartphone in the US late last week, dealing yet another blow to Samsung.
The news is the latest in an ongoing patent battle between the world's two largest electronics makers. The duo have been at odds for years, winding up in courtrooms in at least 10 countries as they aim to capitalize on the emerging and lucrative mobile device market. The latest battle is scheduled to take place on July 30 in a US courtroom.