Samsung wins US appeal over Galaxy Tab injunction

Samsung has won the latest round in its long-running intellectual property dispute with rival Apple, with a US appeals court ruling that a lower court should reconsider an injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet computer.

The injunction had been granted just before the month-long intellectual property infringement trial in August. However, while Samsung's tablet computer had been central to Apple's case, the jury ruled that it was one of the few Samsung devices that did not infringe Apple's intellectual property.

Even so, Samsung has struggled to persuade the lower court to overturn the US sales injunction on the tablet. US District Judge Lucy Koh said that she was unable to lift the injunction because Samsung had already appealed the case that she presided over.

But the Federal US Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington disagreed and said that Koh should now review the issue.

The decision comes just as retailers are gearing up for the Christmas rush and one month before Samsung unveils its latest Galaxy Note, a stylus-equipped tablet/phone device.

According to Reuters, Apple and Samsung are involved in intellectual property disputes in 10 countries as they battle for leadership of the smartphone and tablet computing markets.