The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, currently the biggest competitor to Apple’s iPad, is expected to get delayed further till September 30 at the earliest as Apple started pressing harder in its patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung in the Federal Court. However, Samsung isn’t taking these attacks hands down, as the South Korean company today stated its intentions of filing a cross-claim against Apple, accusing its iPad tablet of having infringed upon some of the company’s own patents.
The lawyers who represent Apple told the court that last Thursday; Samsung sent Apple samples from three of its modified new version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 which it plans to launch in Australia. However, Apple was still not satisfied and said that the new model too infringed upon its patents.
In a hearing held previously, it had been agreed by Samsung that the launch of the US version of the tablet will be halted till this weekend and it agreed to provide to Apple the samples of the modified tablet which is supposed to be launched in Australia at least a week before it was actually launched. It was accurately predicted by patent experts that Apple, which still holds that the designs of its iPhones and iPad were blatantly copied by Samsung, will not give thumbs up to the new Galaxy Tab 10.1 meant for Australia.
According to Apple’s counsel, even as the new Galaxy Tab has been reduced in its functionality, it still infringes on their patents. They wanted the court to re-affirm its orders to block the sales of the US model of the tablet which were stopped from being sold in the country a long while ago, while also seeking new orders for the prevention of the sale of the Australian version before the hearing that is to take place at the end of this September.
This was initially challenged by Samsung’s lawyers, as they argued that no new evidence proving that the new tablet infringed their patents had been provided by Apple. Samsung had planned to release the new tablet in Australia in the second week of September. The counsel of Samsung said that they have not been provided with any evidence that proves Apple’s case, and as their product is new and different from the US version of the Galaxy Tab, they believe it does not infringe Apple’s patents.
