Last month the heated Apple vs. Samsung patent war found itself back on the antipodean battleground of Australia, when Samsung Electronics filed a counter lawsuit against the Cupertino-based tech firm Down Under. With this lawsuit the South Korean tech giant claimed that Apple’s iPhone and iPad 2 tablet violate a number of wireless-technology patents that it holds.

The latest news from Australia is that Apple has rejected an offer from Samsung to settle their dispute. According to Reuters this settlement (terms not disclosed) would have paved the way for Samsung’s latest Galaxy tablet to enter the Australian market just in time for the holiday season.

A lawyer for Apple informed the Federal Court in Sydney today that the offer that Samsung made last week, did not provide any basis for a settlement. He asked the court to rule on Apple’s claim that the Galaxy tablet’s touch-screen technology infringes upon an Apple patent. “The main reason we are here is to prevent the launch [of the Galaxy tablet] and maintain the status quo,” Apple lawyer Steven Burley said.

For its part Samsung informed the court that if it could not secure a ruling within a time frame of around two weeks (by mid-October), then the company would lose its chance to launch its new tablets in time for Christmas. Neil Young, a lawyer for Samsung, added that in that case “there is no urgency” and stated that it might take until March 2012 to fully prepare its legal defense.

 

In related news Microsoft also recently revealed that it has signed a definitive agreement with Samsung Electronics to cross-license the patent portfolios of both companies.