Samsung wins appeal on Galaxy tablet ban in Australia

Image caption, Apple has repeatedly accused Samsung of "blatantly copying" aspects of its mobile devices

Samsung has won a major battle in its ongoing tussle with Apple, after an Australia court overturned a ban on the sale of its Galaxy tab in the country.

Apple had won an injunction against Samsung in October preventing sales of the Galaxy 10.1 tab, accusing of it copying its touch-screen technology.

Samsung has since redesigned the tablet.

The overturning of the ban is likely to provide a big boost to Samsung ahead of the Christmas shopping season.

"Samsung Electronics Australia is pleased with today's unanimous decision by the Federal Court to lift the preliminary injunction on sales of the Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1," the company said in a statement.

"We believe the ruling clearly affirms that Apple's legal claims lack merit."

However, Samsung will not be able to start selling the tablet immediately as Justice Lindsay Foster granted a stay on the order until Friday, 2 December, 16:00 local time (05:00 GMT).

Justice Foster said Apple will have to appeal in the High Court if it wanted to extend the stay.

The case is part of a long legal battle between the two companies as they continue to fight for a bigger slice of the fast-growing market for smartphones and tablet PCs.

The dispute between the two has resulted in cases being filed in various countries.

Apple has accused Samsung of blatantly copying its design and infringing its patents.

It has filed complaints against the Korean manufacturer in the US and won injunctions in the Australia and Germany.

For its part, Samsung has said that Apple infringed its 3G patents. It has sought a ban on sales of Apple's iPhone 4S in Australia, Japan, France and Italy.