Apple wins extension on Samsung tablet ban

Apple Inc. won a one-week extension to a ban on Samsung Electronics Co. releasing its latest tablet computer in Australia.

High Court Justice Dyson Heydon extended a ban on sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 to Dec. 9, when the court will consider Apple’s request for permission to appeal a lower court ruling that ordered the ban lifted.

The Australian dispute is part of a battle between the companies on at least four continents that began in April, when Apple sued Samsung in the U.S. and accused it of “slavishly” copying the designs of iPhones and iPads.

The patent disputes began when Samsung released its Android-based Galaxy smartphones in 2010. Steve Jobs, the co founder of Apple who died Oct. 5, initiated contact with Samsung in July 2010 over his concerns that the Galaxy phones copied the iPhone, according to Richard Lutton, Apple’s patent attorney, who testified in Sydney on Sept. 29.

Samsung was the world’s biggest maker of smartphones in the last quarter, with Apple being second. The maker of Mac computers dominates the tablet market. (Bloomberg)