It’s going to be four months until Samsung can get patent infringement claims against Apple’s iPhone 4S before an Australian court. The nation’s federal court announced it will take up the charges in March, earlier than the Cupertino, Calif. tech giant wanted, but providing several months before any sales ban can go into effect.
Australian Federal Court justice Annabelle Bennett said she would set the hearing’s exact day on Friday. Apple had wanted to push the hearing back until August, but Bennett thought that was too distant. Samsung has similar court actions pending in Japan, France and Italy.
The iPhone 4S launched in Australia Oct. 14, the same day as in the US, UK, Canada, France and Japan.
Samsung has a nearer court date to respond to Apple’s injunction against sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia. For its part, Apple has already won sales bans of the tablet in Germany and the Netherlands, along with attempting a similar injunction at home in the United States.
Earlier this week, a South Korean newspaper quoted an unnamed Samsung executive saying a decision has been made not to attempt to ban iPhone 4S sales in their home country, but to instead limit court actions to other parts of the globe. The smartphone maker had earlier suggested it would seek an early ban of the new iPhone should it reach South Korean shores.
