Samsung Electronics is gaining momentum in its patent battle with Apple after a U . S . court rejected the iPhone maker ’ s request for a preliminary injunction against the sale of its mobile devices . The South Korean tech giant scored the legal victory on Friday following a win in its appeal against a sales ban of its tablet PCs in Australia last week . Apple sued Samsung in the U . S . in April , saying Samsung ’ s Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets “ slavishly ” copies its iPhone and iPad . But on Friday , a U . S District Court in San Jose , California , rejected Apple ’ s bid to ban sales of Samsung ’ s three Galaxy smartphones and the Galaxy Tab 10 . 1 . The ruling questioned the validity of Apple ’ s design patents , citing pre - existing tablet PCs with similar designs as the iPad . It also recognized functional reasons for having to design tablet PCs with , for example , a screen taking up most of the space on the front . “ It is not clear that an injunction on Samsung ’ s accused devices would prevent Apple from being irreparably harmed , ” Judge Lucy Koh said in the ruling . Samsung welcomed the decision , which is expected to give crucial leverage to the electronics giant in the coming legal disputes with Apple . “ This ruling confirms our long - held view that Apple ’ s arguments lack merit , ” Samsung said in a statement . “ In particular , the court has recognized that Samsung has raised substantial questions about the validity of certain of Apple ’ s design patents . ” Apple reiterated its view . “ This kind of blatant copying is wrong , ” said spokesperson Steve Park . “ It ’ s no coincidence that Samsung ’ s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and the iPad , from the shape of the hardware to the user interface , and even the packaging . ” The two rivals , who also are business partners , are currently engaged in about 30 different patent lawsuits in nine countries . After four consecutive losses in Europe including the Netherlands and Germany , Samsung won its first on Nov . 30 in its appeal against Apple ’ s ban on its sales of tablet PCs in Australia . By Lee Ji - yoon ( jylee @ heraldm . com )