Lawsuit blocks Galaxy Tab launch
Bloomberg reports that Samsung will halt all pre-launch advertising until the Federal Court of Australia resolves a case that sees Apple suing Samsung for copying the look and feel of its iPhones and iPads.
Apple is also seeking an injunction on the Galaxy Tab in the US, UK, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, and South Korea. Apple's Australian lawyer Stephen Bennett says the Australian injunction was necessary because Samsung had been advertising an “imminent launch” of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 since 20 July.
Samsung has also reportedly agreed to give Apple three samples of the Australian version of the tablet at least seven days before it plans to launch. Meanwhile, in the US, Verizon started selling the tablet last Thursday.
This is not the first time Apple and Samsung (and Apple and HTC and Apple and Motorola) have gotten into a heated patent-infringement battle. Apple believes all of these companies have infringed on its mobile product patents, and has sued accordingly. Samsung has also retaliated with lawsuits of its own, writes PC World.
Reuters Canada reveals that the legal battle between the two companies has been building since April when Apple sued Samsung in a US federal court in California.
“It is not that we will not sell the Galaxy Tab until the legal case ends. We will sell it when certain conditions are met as we continue talks with Apple,” says Samsung's Seoul-based spokesman.
According to 9 news, Samsung's lawyer Neil Murray says the lawsuit on a US version of the Galaxy tablet, is different from the version to be sold in Australia.
Apple has agreed to pay unspecified damages to Samsung if they lose patent infringement suit.
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