An online consumer electronics retailer continues to sell the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1in Australia despite a court ban on its sale in the country and is now facing a lawsuit threat from Apple Inc.

With brisk sales of the iPad rival, dMavo is taking the Apple lawsuit threat as a bluff but at the same time took precautions against possible business disruption by creating a separate online store with a Europe-based server so it could continue to sell the product to Asian customers.
dMavo managing director Wojtek Czarnocki revealed the strategy to Sydney Morning Herald after declaring the shop is ready for a cat and mouse game with Apple.

Czarnocki said the cost of setting up the Europe site was worth the gamble as demand for Galaxy Tab 10.1 is great and continuing.
Apple's lawyers had sent dMavo and another local online retailer, MobiCity, a letter asking them to comply with a court injunction banning Samsung from selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia pending resolution of a patent infringement case between the two companies. Samsung had appealed the injunction and the Federal Court will hear this on Nov. 25.

Mark Summerfield, senior associate and patent specialist at Melbourne law firm Watermark, said the injunction against Samsung can be extended to local and even offshore retailers like dMavo and MobiCity, according to smh.com.au. Enforcement of the overseas injunction, however, will require a court filing in that country.

Summerfield warned that dMavo's offshore unit and server do not exempt it from liability of patent infringement in Australia and corresponding damages because the owner is Australian. He also warned that ignoring such injunction will not prevent the court from issuing orders to pay cost and damages in absentia.

Summerfield cited a case of copyright and trademark infringement injunction violation that resulted in the jailing of three men in June last year.
But Czarnocki brushed the warnings aside and remained confident that his local business is not liable for actions of the offshore business.