Samsung delays Australia tablet launch on Apple suit

Samsung Electronics has delayed the Australian launch of its latest Galaxy tablet due to a patent lawsuit filed by Apple Inc , Bloomberg reported, as both technology companies defend their market share in the booming tablet market.
Samsung is Apple's nearest rival in the fast-growing mobile device industry as it leverages its cost competitiveness and access to chips and core tablet components.
The legal battle between the two companies has been building since April when Apple sued Samsung in a U.S. federal court in California. Apple alleges the South Korean company's Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets "slavishly" copies the iPhone and iPad. Samsung has countersued Apple.
"It is not that we will not sell the Galaxy Tab until the legal case ends. We will sell it when certain conditions are met as we continue talks with Apple," Samsung's Seoul-based spokesman told Reuters.
Last month, Samsung launched a thinner and lighter version of its Galaxy tablet in its lucrative home market, trying to eat into blockbuster sales of Apple's iPad.
Apple has been seeking an injunction from The Federal Court in Sydney preventing the release of the Galaxy device, Bloomberg reported late on Monday.
Apple sued Samsung in Australia, saying the company's Galaxy Tab 10.1 infringes upon 10 Apple patents, Bloomberg said, adding that Samsung has also agreed to stop advertising the tablet in Australia and will not sell the device until it receives court approval.
A spokeswoman for Samsung in Australia said the original launch date in the country was Aug. 11 but a Samsung spokesman in Seoul said this had not been finalised.
Samsung said the move will not affect sales of the Tab.
Apple and Samsung are fighting over patents in courts around the world including the United States and South Korea.
Samsung is one of the fastest growing smartphone makers on the back of a boom in Google's Android operating system.
Samsung will provide Apple three samples of a new Australian version of the tablet at least seven days before it starts distributing it so the U.S. company can review it, Bloomberg said, citing Australian court documents.
Reuters was not immediately able to access the court documents.
The deal to delay the tablet's launch was reached by lawyers during a break in a hearing in the case. The deal includes an agreement that Apple will pay unspecified damages to Samsung if it loses the patent infringement lawsuit, Bloomberg said.