Thursday is D-Day for Samsung and Apple with Justice Bennett said to deliver a final ruling on the controversial patents row. If the Judge rules in Samsung’s favour the Galaxy Tab 10.1 could go on sale here as early as this week.And a decision against Apple could also have major consequences for the iPad 2, which currently dominates with around 75% market share here.
Justice Amanda Bennett will be delivering judgment and summary in the matter of Samsung v Apple at 12 noon Thursday, 13 October in Sydney’s Federal Court, it was announced today.
Samsung’s new Galaxy 10.1 Tab is seen as the iPad’s biggest threat and is thinner and faster. It would also be a major blow to Apple’s bitter patents battle with Samsung which it is pursuing in courts throughout the world, including Europe and US.
The Tab 10.1 was already temporarily banned in Germany and UK, while its 7.7 inch device had to be pulled from IFA show in Berlin.
Apple are claiming Galaxy Tab 10.1 violates at least three of its intellectual patents and is a clone of its famed iPad 2. Samsung denies the claims, saying it is about Apple marketing and marketshare concerns and nothing to do with patents.
The sparring duo were said to be close to a deal earlier in the Australian case after lawyers acting for the Korean giant offered to remove certain features from the Australian version of the Samsung Tab, but this was rejected by Apple.
Read Samsung Galaxy Tab Apple’s Worst Fear
The Galaxy 10.1 Tab on Android Honeycomb would be “commercially dead” if a ruling isn’t made soon, Samsung Counsel warned in court last week. “Our product would be kept out of the market for the Christmas period and into next year,” declared Samsung’s lawyer Neil Young.
“Therefore, that product would be dead.”
The case, being heard at court room 18A in Sydney’s Federal Court, has been going on for over two weeks but is now the make-or- break location for Apple and Samsung’s tablet battle.
Having sat through the case for several days it is difficult to know which party may emerge victorious, although Samsung appeared to have a compelling counter-argument.
Samsung will be making an official statement after the hearing although no word yet whether Apple will do likewise.
