Will Samsung Steal Apple’s Victory?

Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) win over Samsung (SSNLF.PK) in the U.S. may not be the resounding victory it once seemed, as the South Korean electronics maker has convinced an appeals court to reconsider a sales ban won by Apple against its Galaxy Tab 10.1.

The injunction was originally put in place ahead of the month-long trial that ultimately saw Apple awarded over a billion dollars in damages and Samsung convicted of willful infringement on some design patents. However, the jury in that case found that Samsung, despite having violated numerous other Apple patents, had not violated the patent that was the basis for the tablet injunction. Thus, Samsung argued the ban should be lifted.

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However, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh, who presided over the case, said she could not act because Samsung had already appealed. In its ruling on Friday, the Federal U.S. Circuit Court of appeals in Washington said Koh could now consider the issue.

Though the Galaxy 10.1 is an older model, the ban still hurts Samsung, which is locked in patent disputes in 10 different countries in the run-up to the holiday shopping season, while also facing increased competition in the tablet market from Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS), both of which recently announced updates to their respective Kindle and Nook lines. And of course, rumors are still swirling Apple will add to its iPad lineup with a smaller, 7-inch tablet, with a comparably lower price point, helping the tech giant to compete with lower-end devices.

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