Apple wins battle with Samsung in Australia

PanARMENIAN.Net - Apple Inc. won a victory on Thursday, October 13, in its global patent battle with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. when a judge in Australia upheld a temporary injunction blocking the South Korean company from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer in the Pacific nation.

Justice Annabelle Bennett ruled that the Samsung product couldn't be sold in Australia if it used features such as touch-screen technology that Apple claims infringe patents used in its popular iPad tablet, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Samsung last week said it will try to stop the sale of Apple's iPhone 4S in France and Italy, claiming that it infringed on patents used in third-generation transmission technology.

The dispute is part of a wider global battle, including litigation in Europe and the U.S., in which two of the world's biggest technology companies are vying for a share in the US$16 billion market for tablet computers. The Cupertino, Calif.-based, electronics company reported that second-quarter global iPad sales nearly tripled to 9.25 million units from 3.3 million a year earlier.

Apple, the world's biggest technology company by market value, has already scored a major victory in Germany where a court has banned sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Europe's biggest economy.

Samsung on Thursday declined to comment on whether it will modify its tablet device for the Australian market to avoid the sales injunction there, but said it is able to release a variety of alternative technologies to satisfy its customers.