Australians are waiting for the decision of Federal Court Justice Annbelle Bennett on the legal dispute between Apple and Samsung over the release of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia.

Ms Bennett had finished hearing on the Apple petition to permanently ban the sale of the Samsung tablet computer in the country and she initially said to expect a decision by the end of this week. However, the ruling would be a weekend cliffhanger because a court spokesman said the judge will not issue the decision on Friday.

Apple, which charged that Samsung copied the iPad, rejected an offer by Samsung to settle their patent infringement lawsuit. Samsung denied it copied the iPad and even filed petitions in France and Italy to bar the iPhone 4S launch as part of the intense rivalry between the two firms over market share for smartphones and tablet computers.

Samsung is running against time to launch the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia before Christmas because if the South Korean firm fails to get a favourable ruling from Ms Bennett this month, it would kill the commercial viability of the Galaxy Tab.

Samsung, however, failed to anticipate the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, which boosted the sale of Apple products across the globe a day after his demise. Marketing experts said booming sales of celebrity works after their death are a natural phenomenon. They cited as proof sales of Michael Jackson's records and songs which skyrocketed after he died of apparent propofol overdose in 2009.

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