Samsung loses bid to lift U.S. sales ban against Galaxy Tab

A court in California has refused to stay its earlier preliminary injunction on sales of Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablets in the U.S., pending an appeal by Samsung against the order.U.S.

District Judge Lucy Koh granted an Apple request last week for a preliminary injunction against the Android-powered tablet, largely considered a front-runner to challenge the ipad. Samsung had asked the court to suspend the order pending resolution of an appeal.

Samsung is also unlikely to suffer irreparable harm without a stay, as it had conceded that it had other tablet products in the market.While Apple has already posted a $2.6 million bond as required to initiate the injunction, that doesn't necessarily mean sales of the tablet will immediately cease in the U.S.

Apple has been trying desperately to secure a U.S. ban on Samsung’s tablet since April 2011, when it filed a lawsuit in California accusing the Korea-based electronics giant of copying “the look and feel” of its iPad tablet and iPhone smartphone. Apple scored a win last October when Koh ruled that Samsung’s line of Galaxy tablets infringe on Apple’s patents.