Australia court extends Samsung Galaxy Tab sales ban

An Australian court extended a ban on sales of Samsung Electronics' latest Galaxy tablet in the country by at least a week, further delaying the South Korean technology firm's attempt to sell the device to Christmas shoppers.

The Australian ban was set to expire by 4 p.m (0500 GMT) on Friday but will now run until Dec 9 so the High Court can hear an Apple appeal against a court decision this week to overturn a temporary ban in place since late July. Justice John Dyson Heydon said the orders made by the Federal Court on Nov 30 "be stayed pending the termination of applicants application for special leave to appeal." Samsung is the world's top smartphone maker, but a distant second to Apple in tablets. The biggest legal battle for the global technology industry across 10 countries has undermined its efforts to close the gap.