Apple rejects Samsung's settlement offer in Australia
South Korean consumer electronics maker had hoped deal would allow it to get its Galaxy Tab 10.1 on retailer shelves Down Under.
Apple has rejected a settlement offer from Samsung Electronics that would have allowed the consumer electronics maker to sell its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia.
Apple, which claims Samsung's products copy the look and feel of the technology used in its products, told a federal court in Sydney on Tuesday that the settlement offer had no basis, according to a Reuters report.
"It is one we don't accept and there is no surprise," Apple attorney Steven Burley told the court. "The main reason we are here is to prevent the launch and maintain the status quo."
After pressing the courts for months to get its tablet computer on retailer shelves in Australia, Samsung said last week it had offered Apple a settlement to resolve the case. Details of the settlement offer were not revealed.
Apple and Samsung representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Samsung agreed in August to stop advertising and to halt sales of its tablet until the patent lawsuit was resolved.
Tensions between the two appeared to ease a bit last month when Samsung said it had agreed to provide Apple with three samples of its tablet ahead of it going on sale, which Apple could review to make sure there's no violation of its intellectual property. However, just a few weeks later, Samsung announced it would delay the launch of its tablet in Australia so that it could countersue Apple.
The lawsuit, which is just one several filed in multiple countries on four continents, is part of a wider conflict between Apple and the various companies supporting Android. With Google's mobile operating system gaining in popularity, Apple is attempting to take the wind out of Android's sails with lawsuits against several of its key supporters.