(Image source: Samsung)

BY LEXA DECKERT

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Apple -- instigator or victim? -- is in another patent battle with Samsung -- this time over the Galaxy Tab 10.1.
Ninemsn reports...


“Apple has claimed that Samsung "slavishly" imitated aspects of the iPad... The South Korean company has agreed to stop advertising the device and postpone any plans to sell it in Australia until the lawsuit is resolved.”


Samsung’s latest Galaxy tablet was supposed to launch in Australia on August 11.
Apple quickly halted that -- claiming Samsung is breaking 10 patent laws -- one being the look and feel of the tablet.
A writer for Fortune has already picked which camp he supports, saying...


“I tend to take Apple's side on this... I have a Galaxy Tab 10.1 and it's a tad too similar... If Samsung believed that the... Galaxy Tab 10.1 doesn't infringe any of Apple's rights, it would have defended itself as a matter of principle."


Despite negativity -- Samsung is treating the lawsuit as nothing more than a delay. Nett explains...


“Samsung plans to go ahead with releasing an Australian version of the 10.1 that will be slightly different... Details of the technical differences have not yet been released... [but] the device will be made available ‘in the near future.’”


So if Apple wins, how much of a hit will Samsung really take? The Inquirer says this battle doesn't mean much, but it makes the war a bit more interesting.


“Australia is a very small market for tablets, with a market share of only 2.4 per cent, according to IDC figures. If the delay is limited to this region Samsung can probably continue relatively unscathed. The problem is that since it has blinked there, it might also be willing to give in to Apple in other more important geographies...”


The next Federal court hearing will be August 29.
Apple has agreed to pay Samsung damages if they lose the patent infringement suit.