Samsung Electronics of Korea will file a "cross claim" against rival Apple Inc. at the Federal Court of Australia even as the company has agreed to delay the launch of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 until the pending patent issue between the two giant electronics companies is resolved.

Samsung said in a statement posted on www.iTWire.com that it agreed to delay the launch of Galaxy Tab 10.1 pending the decision of the Federal Court of Australia in the week starting Sept. 26.

"It should be noted that the court has not issued an injunction against the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1, and the court did not make any ruling during today’s hearing," it said Monday.

Samsung said it will file a "cross claim" against Apple Australia and Apple Inc. regarding the "invalidity of the patents previously asserted by Apple and also a cross claim against Apple regarding violation of patents held by Samsung by selling its iPhones and iPads."

Samsung said Australian customers should have a wider selection of innovative products to choose from and the company will file the cross claim in the coming days.

"Samsung will continue to actively defend its right to launch the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia," it said.

"This follows legal action taken by Samsung against Apple for patent infringement in the United States of America, Germany, Korea and others. Samsung will continue to pursue all possible measures including legal action to defend its intellectual property rights and ensure its innovative products remain available to consumers throughout the world," it added.

Samsung was supposed to launch the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia early August but Apple was able to get an injunction from the Federal Court stopping the launch.

Apple alleged that Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 has the same "look and feel" of the Apple iPad 2.

Samsung Electronics is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with consolidated sales of US$135.8 billion in 2010.

Apple, on the other hand, is touted as the world's largest technology company with $76.2 billion in cash and marketable securities as of end June.