Jun 28, 2012 at 10:52am

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh has approved Apple's request for a preliminary injunction in the U.S. against Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1.

"Although Samsung has a right to compete, it does not have a right to compete unfairly, by flooding the market with infringing products," Koh wrote on Tuesday.

Apple filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in May 2012, claiming Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 infringes on an iPad-related patent. Apple has also filed a similar motion against Samsung's Galaxy S III in June.

The judge's order becomes effective after Apple posts a $2.6 million bond as protection against damages suffered by Samsung if the injunction is later overturned.

It's important to note, however, that this ruling only affects Samsung's older 10-inch tablet, the Galaxy Tab 10.1. It does not affect the updated Tab 10.1 II, which was unveiled in May 2012.

According to an IDC report from March 2012, Apple's iPad had a 54.7% market share in Q4 2011 while Samsung, which sells several tablet models, had a 5.8% share in the same period.

Samsung, which has already appealed (PDF link) the decision, said it doesn't expect this ruling to have a big impact on its business.

Source: CNN