While Apple and Samsung’s globe-spanning IP lawsuit hasn’t made a dent in either company’s business up until now, the first real blow has landed… and it is Samsung walking away with the bloody nose, as a new development in Australia means Samsung can’t sell their iPad-like Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet on the continent until further notice.
According to Apple’s Australian council, Stephen Burley, Samsung is infringing upon 10 Apple patents with the Galaxy Tab 10.1, including the “look and feel” as well as the iPad’s touchscreen technology.
Meanwhile, Samsung countered that the version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 going on sale in Australia differed from the one being sold in the United States, although we’re not sure how markedly different they could possibly be.
Ultimately, the two councils decided that until Apple’s lawsuit against Samsung is resolved or Samsung wins court approval, Samsung will not sell the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia, nor will they be able to advertise it.
This could potentially be a big blow, who has been accused of “slavishly” copying Apple’s designs. However, while Samsung’s nose might be trickling right now, there’s the possibility that Apple might find that the punch it just landed sprained their hand, with both parties agreeing that Apple will have to pay lost sales damages to Samsung if they lose their case in America.
If Apple agreed to that, they must think they have a strong case against Samsung.
[via Bloomberg]
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
16 responses to “Apple Bloodies Samsung’s Nose In Australia, Gets Galaxy Tab 10.1 Pulled”
Interesting ruling. I am sure the judge found merit in Apple’s case otherwise why would they stop Samsung’s sales until an American case is resolved (which would be like guilty until proven innocent).
The truth is that this isn’t a HUGE financial victory for Apple but more a slap in the face to Samsung. Hey, I’m all for competition but there are rules and guidelines. Innovate, Samsung, and you’d sell more products.
-Chris
http://friendsofmac.net
I just paid $22,87 for an iPad2-64GB and my girlfriend loves her Panasonic Lumix GF 1 Camera that we got for $38,76 there arriving tomorrow by UPS. I will never pay such expensive retail prices in stores again. Especially when I also sold a 40 inch LED TV to my boss for $675 which only cost me $62,81 to buy. Here is the website we use to get it all from, GrabPenny.com
I guess Apple is that scared of competition! I guess can you blame them when Microsoft cleaned their clock and almost sent them out of business in the desktop market!
What an immature commentary full of senseless facts.
Samsung’s innovation prior to copying Apple’s ideas was the Samsung Instinct. It sucked.
True. I mean 90% market share is a tight contest, right!
Check out this awesome apple blog!
http://applefanboynews.com/
Not really, they are simply, like most other big companies, protecting their patents and intellectual property.