Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Delayed in Australia Pending Court Case Resolution

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Apple and Samsung are in a love-hate relationship. While Samsung is a major parts supplier for Apple, the two companies are also embroiled in patent-related legal disputes throughout the world. Australia isn’t spared from Apple and Samsung’s patent disputes, but Samsung is fighting back.

Apple is claiming that Samsung stole their intellectual property by copying the iPad in producing the Galaxy Tab, and legal proceedings in Australian courts have so far delayed the release of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the region. Samsung has earlier announced that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was not going to have an Australian launch anyway, even with no current injunction against selling the Galaxy Tab in this territory, unlike in Europe. However, the company will pursue counter-claims against Apple, and their main defense will be that Apple’s patents are invalid, and not enforceable. It also appears that the company is now planning a launch in the “near future,” in an aim to “ensure that consumers have a wider selection of innovative products to choose from.”

The Australian federal court system will make a decision by the week of September 26, 2011. Until then, folks Down Under would have to wait for Samsung to do a Galaxy Tab 10.1 launch. Only question at this point is whether either party is competing by delaying the competitor’s product. Considering how quickly gadgets become obsolete, timing can be a big factor in the success or failure of a device like a tablet computer.