Public the losers in Samsung-Apple dispute

The Australian public continues to suffer as a result of the patent war being waged between Samsung and Apple, as the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is delayed again pending further legal argument and Samsung announces its intention to file a counter-suit.

Following court appearances yesterday, Samsung issued a statement saying it was again delaying the launch of the Galaxy tablet, this time from September 12 to September 30.

"It should be noted that the court has not issued an injunction against the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1, and the court did not make any ruling during today’s hearing.”

Apple is to present further evidence of the patents infringed on by the Galaxy tablet in coming weeks; Samsung will have a chance to rebut, and formal hearings will take place on September 26 and 29.

Samsung added in its statement that it intends to strike back in the patent war.

"Today, Samsung informed the Federal Court of Australia it intends to file a cross claim against Apple Australia and Apple Inc. Regarding the invalidity of the patents previously asserted by Apple and also a cross claim against Apple regarding violation of patents held by Samsung by selling its iPhones and iPads.”

The Australian battle mirrors those taking place overseas; last week in the US, Samsung claimed Apple stole the iPad design from the 1968 sci-fi classic 2001: A Space Odyssey (go here to view the evidence).

Whoever triumphs in the patent war, the public will be the loser; not only have they been deprived of competitive products, but they will eventually be the ones to foot the mounting legal bills through inflated prices.

As summarised on TechCrunch, "The brawl has lasted about four months, spread across three continents, and it doesn’t look like it’s slowing down at all.

"In the end, Apple and Samsung will survive. It’s the innocent customers who are losing big.”