U.S. court temporarily lifts sales ban on Galaxy Nexus; not Galaxy Tab 10.1

In a move that would bring the South Korean giant some partial relief, albeit temporarily, a U.S. appeals court has lifted the ban on the sales of the Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Nexus smartphones. The court, however has left the ban on Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablets as is. According to reports, the U.S. Court of Appeals, situated in the capital, Washington DC, decided to lift the sales ban on Samsung's Galaxy Nexus smartphones, which was put into effect by California-based U.S. District Court Judge, Lucy Koh. This temporary "stay" on the ban, according to reports will only continue till Apple puts forth its arguments, for which the court has given the Cupertino company time till July 12. 

Alongside the temporary relief following the sales ban on their Galaxy Nexus smartphone being lifted, the South Korean giant faced disappointment, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in its brief order, denied Samsung Electronics' request to lift the ban prevailing on the U.S. sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Reports quoted the court as saying, "Samsung's request for an immediate stay is denied."

This decision by the U.S. court comes in as the latest development in the now longstanding lawsuit between two of the most powerful technology brands in the world today. Both, Apple and Samsung Electronics, who were once friends have now been at loggerheads, since a while over a host of unresolved patents. Only recently were there reports about a U.S. judge granting Apple's request for a pre-trial injunction against the sale of Samsung's Galaxy Nexus phone.

Ban lifted, albeit temporarily..

The battle between the two companies continues to intensify as they vie for the top position in the market. In fact, a recent attempt to end the escalating battle between the two companies by the court too didn't bear any fruit. The talks that lasted 2 days - nine and seven hours, respectively failed to elicit any decision. Reports further add that Apple chief, Tim Cook and Samsung Electronics CEO, Choi Gee-sung met as per the court's directions in San Francisco to participate in the talks. 

Both, Apple and Samsung, as per a series of earlier reports have locked horns over a host of patents, which each claim has been infringed by the other. At this juncture, a successful outcome of the court-directed mediation talks would have been crucial to the future of both companies. Apple and Samsung were once friends and share a complex relationship as Samsung is a key components supplier to Apple. Previously we had also quoted a report as stating that "Legal experts say the two firms are far from a settlement. Samsung, for example, argues its technologies are worth 402,000 won, or 60 percent of the iPhone retail price of 671,000 won, on the basis that 3G is the only function differentiating the phone from Apple's digital music player iPod Touch. Apple says Samsung's technology should be confined to modem chip prices, or 2.9 percent of iPhone prices at best."

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