Samsung: We’ll ship Galaxy Tab 10.1 to Australia, Apple be damned

In response to media reports that it has halted planned sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia until Apple lawsuit is resolved, Samsung Australia has stepped forward and shed some light on the matter. The company clarified via the official statement published by Ausdroid.net that a court injunction involves a Galaxy Tab 10.1 variant that the company “had no plans of selling” in Australia whatsoever.

They re-iterate plans to launch a version for the Australian market “in the near future”. It is not clear from the statement whether or not said version will arrive regardless of the outcome of the Apple lawsuit in the country. The company does stress that “this undertaking” will not affect availability of their smartphones and tablets around the world. Here’s Samsung’s statement in its entirety:

Apple Inc. filed a complaint with the Federal Court of Australia involving a Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 variant that Samsung Electronics had no plans of selling in Australia. No injunction was issued by the court and the parties in the case reached a mutual agreement which stipulates that the variant in question will not be sold in Australia. A Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 for the Australian market will be released in the near future. This undertaking does not affect any other Samsung smartphone or tablet available in the Australian market or other countries. Samsung will continue to actively defend and protect our intellectual property to ensure our continued innovation and growth in the mobile communication business.

CNN has confirmed authenticity of the statement. 9to5Google has contacted Samsung Mobile seeking clarification and will updated the post accordingly when we hear back from them. We suggested that the very fact Samsung has bowed to Apple in Australia could be viewed either as their concession to Apple ahead of a possible settlement or a major setback in their legal spat with the Cupertino, California gadget maker. FOSS Patents’ Florian Mueller concurs and points out that “if Samsung believed that the US version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 doesn’t infringe any of Apple’s rights, it would have defended itself as a matter of principle”.

Cross-posted on 9to5Google.com