A U.S. federal judge has barred Apple from using a court order blocking U.S. sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer as evidence in a patent-infringement trial set to start July 30 in San Jose, California.
U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose ruled her sales ban order last month is of "limited value" in the upcoming trial.
In her ruling, she said that QUOTE "Admitting these rulings into evidence would likely confuse the issue and waste time."
Observers have interpreted this to mean that the current sales ban is temporary.
Samsung and Apple, the world's two biggest makers of high-end phones, have accused each other of copying designs and technology for mobile devices.
The companies are fighting patent battles on four continents to retain their dominance in the $219 billion global smartphone market.

Reporter : julian@arirang.co.kr