Samsung has successfully appealed a preliminary injunction that barred the company from releasing its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in Australia. A three-judge appellate panel unanimously reversed the injunction ruling, citing issues with the way Justice Annabelle Bennett interpreted Australian law.

The appellate judges said that Bennett had "misunderstood and misapplied" basic requirements of local patent law and that elements of her reasoning were "grossly unjust," according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The judges also criticized her interpretation of Apple's touchscreen heuristics patent, suggesting that there was "no arguable case of infringement."

Intellectual property analyst Florian Müller characterized the ruling as a win for more than just Samsung. "I think it's a decision that restores much-needed sanity in Australian patent enforcement," he wrote on his blog. "If the preliminary injunction had been upheld, Australia would have been the jurisdiction with the lowest hurdle of all jurisdictions I know for any plaintiff seeking to shut down an alleged patent infringer in a fast-track proceeding."

Apple's Australian lawsuit against Samsung has delayed introduction of its 10" tablet device in the country for several months. Samsung argued that a preliminary injunction was unjust as it would keep the device out of the market for the critical holiday shopping season; the lifting of the sales ban means the company should be able to begin marketing the device within a few days.

A decision still has not been handed down regarding Apple's motion for a preliminary injunction against Samsung in the US. Apple has used the injunctions it has won in Australia, Germany, and The Netherlands to bolster its position here, though Samsung can now do likewise with its successful overturning of a preliminary injunction in Australia.