Things have mostly been going Apple’s way in the patent battle between the Cupertino-based iPhone maker and Korean tech giant Samsung. However, Samsung can now at last claim a victory Down Under.  

According to Reuters, the Korean tech firm will be able to sell its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in Australia from as early as this Friday. This comes after an Australian federal court yesterday decided to lift a preliminary sales injunction imposed on the company’s latest tablet by a lower court. The court granted Apple a stay on lifting the sales ban until Friday, so the Cupertino-based tech outfit does have time to appeal this decision.

Samsung overtook Apple as the world’s number one smartphone maker during Q3, but according to Reuters it is still a distant second to Cupertino when it comes to tablet sales. The publication stated that the intense patent war between the two tech giants has been hampering Samsung’s plans to boost sales of its Android-operating tablets in order to narrow that gap.

And in Germany?

This sales ban in Australia is a case in point, however there’s also the most recent action Apple took in Germany, where the Galaxy Tab 10.1 has also been banned. Samsung managed to get past the ban by slightly altering the design of its tablet and renaming it the Galaxy Tab 10.1N.   

According to the Dow Jones newswires Apple has now filed a motion in a German court with which it is aiming to ban Samsung from selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1N tablet within the European Union. Cupertino filed a preliminary injunction with the Dusseldorf regional court, which scheduled a hearing for the 22nd of December.

In related news from the Apple vs. Samsung front is that Apple can continue selling its iPhone 4S in Australia until March next year at least, which is when an Australian court agreed to hear a case by Samsung aiming to ban sales of Apple’s latest smartphone.