Samsung was dealt another setback this week in its bid to sell the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia when a court again delayed its release in the country so Apple could file an appeal.
Earlier this week, the full Federal Court of Australia overturned an earlier ruling that banned the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the region. The device was temporarily banned due to a patent dispute with Apple.
As reported by Reuters, that ban was scheduled to be lifted at 4pm GMT on Friday, but the court today extended it to Dec. 9 so Apple can file its objections.
In its ruling earlier this week, the full court found that Justice Annabelle Bennett did not adequately assess the strength of Apple's patent claims when she allowed a ban to go into effect last month.
"In our view, her decision was clearly wrong and should be set aside," the full court wrote.
The ban had "a significant impact upon the business of Samsung and the future prospects of the Galaxy Tab 10.1," the court said.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 was scheduled to launch in Australia on Sept. 12. But amidst the patent fight with Apple, Samsung in August volunteered not to sell the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia any earlier than Sept. 30 while the case progressed. That came after Apple convinced a judge to delay Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 launch, claiming the tablet infringed on various elements of the Apple iPad 2. At the time Samsung's Australian counsel said Apple was basing its claims on the U.S. model, and Samsung agreed to hand to Apple several models of the Australian prototype.
In late September, Apple temporarily excluded two of five patent claims against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia. The two dropped patents covered the use of a slider icon that unlocked the tablet's touch screen as well an icon that bounced when zooming.
There were then reports of a deal between the two companies, but nothing materialized before Judge Bennett's decision was handed down.
Apple, meanwhile, has been successful in getting the Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned in Germany, too. To get around that, Samsung introduced a slightly modified Galaxy Tab 10.1N, but Dow Jones reports that Apple is also going after the revamped Galaxy Tab. The Düsseldorf Regional Court has scheduled a hearing about the 10.1N for Dec. 22.
For more, see PCMag's full review of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the slideshow below.