It was Apple that successfully sought the ban, claiming Samsung had copied its iPhone and iPad.

As a result, South Korean Samsung has been unable to sell products in Australia since July.

Apple and Samsung have been fighting legal battles between each other in more than 10 countries since April, as both accuse the other of infringing smartphone and tablet patents.

Last month, Samsung won an appeal against a temporary ban on sales in Australia.

However, Apple was awarded a stay of the orders. On Friday Apple’s bid to extend the ban was turned down by the High Court.

The ruling now means Samsung can sell its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in one of the most lucrative times of the year in retail.

It follows a decision by a US court against Apple’s bid to ban Galaxy phones and tablets, another win for Samsung. Apple has appealed against that ruling.

However, the successes are not indicative of the state of the overall legal tussle.

A French court refused a request by Samsung to ban the sale of the latest iPhone there.