 |
| The contenders face off in the stores for a change |
Despite Apple gaining a further week's continuance of the injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 to plead their case for an appeal hearing, the Australian Federal Court has today denied that plea. As a result, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be on sale in time for Christmas. A week ago, the Court found that in granting the temporary ban in the first place, the original judge hadn't properly considered the evidence, however Apple's lawyers used the legal system to extend the injunction for a further week, supposedly seeking "special leave" to appeal the appeal, and in doing so surely caused more financial harm to Samsung in the lead up to Christmas.
In today's High Court appearance, Apple's lawyers claimed that the original finding was correct and that the Federal Court's appeal decision was “replete with error”. However, it was stated today that Apple narrowly won that original ban through Samsung's reluctance to agree to an early final hearing. On the other hand, Samsung's lawyers argued that there had been no “substantive analysis” of the validity of Apple's case. The High Court's agreement with Samsung's legal team today denied Apple the opportunity for special leave to appeal, and the court awarded Samsung costs.
Perhaps ominously for Samsung though, the full trial will be heard next year before the very judge who allowed the injunction against their Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the first place. However, in their statement today, Samsung professed satisfaction with today's judgment, saying that its 16GB Galaxy Tab will be available "in stores in time for the Christmas shopping period".
Yet one wonders how much damage has already been done to their chances of profiting from those sales, given the truncated pre-holiday period they'll be selling in.
Meanwhile, Samsung is seeking to block sales of Apple's iPhone 4S, and an Australian court will hear that case in March, although Apple continues to sell its device in the interim.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
And to add to Apple woes, a court in Mannheim, Germany is reported to have granted an injunction in favour of Motorola banning all 3G Apple devices from sale in Europe. Execution of the injunction has been stayed pending an appeal by Apple.
ReplyDelete