Apple faces delay in Samsung tablet sales ban

Apple may have to wait a little longer until it can formally seek a ban on Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the United States.

In mid-May, a U.S. appeals court gave Apple the go-ahead to seek a sales injunction on the Samsung tablet ahead of pre-trial settlement talks.

But upon Apple's return to the lower court, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh said the higher appeals court must formally cede jurisdiction back to her before she can grant the request, reports Reuters. The motion was denied but Koh gave no clue as to when the appeals court would hand over the reigns back to her.

Apple and Samsung have been locked in an acrimonious battle over patents for more than a year. Apple claims Samsung "slavishly" copied the design of the iPad, while Samsung fired back with a range of its own patent infringement claims.

Apple sought the ban because "[e]ach day that Samsung continues to sell its infringing Tab 10.1 causes additional harm to Apple through design dilution, lost sales, lost market share, and lost future sales of tag-along products," the technology giant said in a court filing last month.

The two companies' chief executives and legal teams attended court-ordered settlement talks in a bid to find some resolution before the case goes to trial --- thought mostly to spare a jury of a long, complicated trial. The talks were held only days after the U.S. appeals court gave a nod to Apple to seek the sales injunction.

The talks failed and the sparring tablet makers will see each other in court. The case begins July 30.