Friday was not a good day for Apple’s ongoing global legal efforts. In addition to the German ruling against it in a case with Motorola Mobility, the Australian High Court has also agreed with the Federal Court decision and overturned the ban of the Samsung Galaxy Tab.
Apple had applied with the High Court for special permission to appeal the Federal Court’s ruling from November that reversed the injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia. At the time, legal experts in Australia suggested it was a move that wasn’t very likely to succeed, and the High Court’s ruling on Friday affirms that view. Last week, the High Court extended the injunction temporarily in order to provide it time to consider Apple’s request.
Samsung’s victory means that it can now officially start selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia in time for the holidays, which should salvage the device’s chances of being a viable product in that market. Lawyers for Samsung had previously expressed concern that the continued injunction would prevent Samsung from ever being able to launch the product down under. Now, the Sydney Morning Herald reports that the Tab 10.1 could hit stores as early as next week.
The ruling still applies only to the preliminary injunction, and the full case regarding Apple’s claim that the Samsung tablet infringes its tablet technology won’t be heard until sometime in mid-2012.
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