Samsung's new Galaxy Tab 10.1 could hit the shelves in Australia as early as this Friday (December 2), after a court reversed an earlier sales ban on the tablet. 　　The Federal Court decision is a boost for the South Korean consumer tech company ahead of the busy pre-Christmas shopping season, and rare legal victory against rival, Apple. The ruling allows Samsung to begin sales of its tablet in Australia from 4 p.m. (0500 GMT)local time on Friday, unless Apple seeks a High Court extension of the ban. 　　ZDNet's Luke Hopwell says the current legal spat centres on touchscreen technology used in both tablets. ZDNet's Luke Hopwell: "There're two patents that are being tried against Samsung for infringement in the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. 　 　　The touchscreen patent, which is the design of the touchscreen and how it operates, and the hierustics patent. Heuristics basically means what a touchscreen does when you touch it and what it doesn't do as well, when you touch it with four fingers, or you know, when you mash your hand on it, for example." 　　The Australian market is not large, but is one of 10 countries where Samsung and Apple are battling to win market share in the tablet and smartphone space. 　　Samsung has sought to block sales of Apple's latest iPhone 4S, which went on sale in early October, by filing legal requests in four countries including Australia. 　　Apple has successfully blocked Samsung from selling its tablets in Germany, and forced Samsung to modify some smartphone models in the Netherlands. 　　Apple is also seeking to ban sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1N in Germany. The 10.1N is a redesigned version of the Galaxy Tab model, meant to get around a sales ban in the country. Shares in Samsung were up 0.5 percent in Seoul, compared to broader market weakness. (Arnold Gay/ Reuters)