Thursday, December 01, 2011, 10:15 pm

Apple wins one-week extension on Australian Samsung tablet ban

By Mikey Campbell

The recently overturned ban of Samsung's Galaxy 10.1 tablet sales in Australia has been extended one week, new court date set to deliberate whether Apple will be allowed to appeal.

Australian High Court Justice Dyson Heydon on Thursday announced the nationwide ban of Samsung's tablet will remain in effect until Dec. 9, when the court will decide whether Apple can appeal a recent lower court decision to lift the embargo, according to Blomberg.

The preliminary injunction that barred Samsung from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 has been in effect since Oct. 12, though the South Korean company won a reversal on Tuesday that overturned the initial ruling. Apple immediately said it would appeal the latest ruling with the High Court, and was subsequently granted a request to keep the injunction intact until the appeal was filed.

The Australian case is part of an ongoing worldwide patent dispute between the two tech giants, originally started in April when Apple sued Samsung, claiming the company copied the iPad and iPhone's look and feel.

Since the initial suit, Samsung has fired back with its own counter claims pertaining to Apple's use of so-called FRAND patents, however the pursuit has been unsuccessful thus far.

Most recently, the South Korean company's litigation strategy was reportedly under investigation by the European Commission to determine whether it violates anti-competition laws.