Barely a few days go by without news surfacing about Apple and Samsung as they feud in courts across the world. If you've been following the whole ordeal, you'll probably agree that throughout the ongoing battles in court, it is the Cupertino-based company who has amassed an ever-increasing number of wins against the South Korean giant.
That all changed yesterday, however, when the Federal Court of Appeals lifted the injunction preventing Samsung from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the Australian market. The justices presiding voted unanimously in favor of lifting the injunction put in place by Justice Bennett of the lower court on October 13.
The injunction will be lifted on Friday at 4pm (05:00 GMT), with Samsung now legally able to sell its Galaxy Tab 10.1 products to the Australian market. This important and somewhat rare win for Samsung comes at a crucial time with the Christmas sales season shifting into high gear.
According to the Guardian, the injunction was overturned because of Justice Bennett's failure to include in her written decision any assessment of the strengths of Apple's case, which is a requirement before granting the injunction. "In our view her decision was clearly wrong and should be set aside," the panel wrote. They also said Apple was unlikely to win at a trial because the evidence available failed to provide any basis of proof that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet actually infringed Apple's touchscreen patent.
This latest ruling is likely to bolster Samsung's appeals as the two company's fight each other in over nine different countries, including the U.S., South Korea, and in Europe where Samsung has had to modify its Galaxy device designs in order to sidestep sales bans in Germany and the Netherlands. "We believe the (Australian) ruling clearly affirms that Apple's legal claims lack merit," Samsung said in a statement, further commenting that details on market availability will follow shortly.
Apple will have to appeal to the High Court if it wishes to extend the stay longer than the Friday deadline. The company has yet to make any form of statement regarding the federal court's latest decision.
Two weeks ago, Samsung won an early trial against Apple as it filed a lawsuit claiming the company's iPhone and iPad devices infringed its patents relating to 3G wireless technology. The lawsuit is considered a direct retaliation in response to the injunction passed in October banning its Galaxy devices from sale in Australia.