The move is a small setback for Samsung, which had hoped to launch its Galaxy Tablet 10.1 tablet on the Australian market Friday where it will compete with Apple's iPad 2. However, the Korean company said it would wait for a judgement to be made before putting its product on sale.
"I'll do it as quickly as I can. I would hope to give judgement next week," Federal Court Justice Annabelle Bennett told attorneys for the electronics firms in Sydney.
The case is part of a global battle between the two companies that began in April, when Apple sued Samsung in California claiming its smartphones and tablets had "slavishly" copied the iPhone and iPad.
A key witness in court Thursday said that Steve Jobs, Apple's recently resigned chief executive, directly contacted Samsung last year to express concerns that its products infringed on Apple patents.
"The discussions started with contact from him, and then he wasn't involved in meetings beyond that," senior Apple executive Richard Lutton said.
Mr. Lutton said Samsung is an important components supplier to Apple and the two companies have "a deep relationship." He said this relationship was one of the reasons that Apple contacted Samsung "to give them a chance to do the right thing."
A ruling in Apple's favor would follow its victory in Germany, where a court has barred Samsung from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Europe's biggest economy on the grounds that it copied Apple's iPad. But a rejection of Apple's claim could threaten the company's dominance of the global market for tablets and smartphones, which are the main drivers of its blistering profit growth.
Thursday's early proceedings were largely taken up with attorneys presenting arguments on what can be submitted to the judge as evidence and discussing technical aspects of the case, which centers around patents that Apple claims have been infringed by Samsung.
David Catterns, an attorney for Samsung, said Thursday the Korean company has given an undertaking to drop a patent covering so-called selective rejection technology from its case. Selective rejection refers to the ability of a tablet computer to recognize and ignore accidental touches on the screen.
We can live without that feature, Your Honour. I told you it was trivial," Catterns said.
A Slew of Tablets
View Interactive
Amazon.com via Bloomberg News
A bevy of new and upgraded tablets and e-readers are on the market. See how the base models for the different devices stack up, including Amazon's new Kindle Fire tablet.
More photos and interactive graphics
Apple has filed around a dozen patent infringement claims but only three, all related to touch screen technology, were being considered in this week's temporary injunction hearing before Justice Bennett. Samsung's move Thursday means the hearing is now considering two patents.
The case has been adjourned until Friday afternoon Sydney time.
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