Samsung is halting sales on its latest iteration to the successful product line, the Galaxy Tab. The 10.1 inch model which has just launched here in North America is heralded as one of the slimmest devices on the market. A recent lawsuit from Apple in Australia is preventing the Korean company from distributing their new tablet in that market.
The latest chapter of the Apple and Samsung saga of lawsuits and counter lawsuits on various patents started in April when Apple sued Samsung in a California federal court. Apple claims the South Korean company’s Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets “slavishly” copies the iPhone and iPad.
We now arrive at the Australia situation. Apple is claiming the Galaxy Tab 10.1 violates 10 of their existing patents and until it is resolved the tablets are a no-go. Samsung has mentioned that they are developing a new version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab and will give free copies to Apple for their review.
If the Apple lawsuit in Australia goes south, they will have to pay Samsung a large portion of money to cover court costs and loss of product sales. Perhaps it is this attitude of Apple in sueing everyone for patents that has allowed the company to sit on 78 billion dollars in cash.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
