Apple have managed to get the Australian court to grant a temporary ban on the Samsung Galaxy Tab. This is the latest in a long list of legal wranglings between Apple and Samsung.

Annabelle Bennett, a Federal Court Judge today granted the injunction, ensuring that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 cannot be sold in Australia. Samsung can no longer sell the device, until they could get a reversed decision from the court or a pending lawsuit patent is resolved.

This is another kick for Samsung who have been holding the number 2 slot in the tablet market. With their product unable to be sold in certain countries coming up to the Christmas sales, it will damage revenue for Q4. Germany and the Netherlands also face a similar situation.

This patent battle has been ongoing now for some time and Apple are claiming that Samsung are basically just copying their ideas rather than generating their own. It goes back to April this year when Apple sued Samsung in the United States for copying the product design, user interface and packaging for both iPad and iPhone.

Samsung have tried to fight back with lawsuits of their own and have even accused Apple of patent infringement of their wireless telecommunications technology.

Apple filed the Australian lawsuit in July. accusing Samsung of copying touch screen technology. The court orders for the case in Australia will not be published until Friday. Samsung may try to produce a version of their device which doesn't have the features Apple are contesting.

Samsung issued a statement to the press today saying “We are disappointed with this ruling and Samsung will be seeking legal advice on its options. Samsung will continue its legal proceeding against Apple's claim in order to ensure our innovative products remain available to consumers.”

Kitguru says: Will we see an end to this in 2011?

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