An Australian court is expected to rule next week on Apple's plea to temporarily ban sales of Samsung latest tablets on grounds that it infringed on its iPad patents.

An Australian federal court said a decision would take some time but she would aim to deliver it as quickly as possible.

Apple is seeking a temporary ban on sales of Samsung Galaxy 10.1 tablets citing infringement of its touch screen technology patent, ahead of a final hearing.

Apple says Samsung's Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets "slavishly" copied its iPhone and iPad and has launched an international legal battle.

Samsung rejects the claims and hopes it gets a quick favorable ruling so that its Galaxy 10.1 tablets can reach customers in time for the Christmas gifting season.

The fight bewteen Apple and Samsung began when Apple sued Samsung in April in the United States, alleging the product design, user interface and packaging of Samsung's Galaxy devices copy the iPhone and iPad.

Samsung has responded with its own lawsuits accusing Apple of violating its intellectual property. The fight has spread to 10 countries including the U.S., South Korea, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia.

The battle is complicated as Apple and Samsung are not only competitors in the global market for smartphones and tablet computers, but also have a close business relationship. Samsung supplies some of the key components that go into Apple products.

Earlier this month, a German court ruled that Samsung cannot directly sell its new Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the country, saying the design too closely resembles Apple's iPad 2. Samsung has appealed the decision.

Samsung also took further action in The Netherlands and added four more lawsuits to the quickly swelling pile of litigation between the two tech titans.