A U.S. appeals court on Thursday said it won't reconsider an earlier ruling refusing to impose a sales ban on Samsung's Galaxy Nexus smartphone. Apple has asked the full Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. to revive its bid for a sales ban on Samsung's Galaxy Nexus smartphone.

The panel rejected Apple's request to impose a sales ban on Samsung's Nexus smartphone ahead of a trial set for March 2014.

The legal battle between Apple and Samsung has become very complicated and it has been widely viewed as a proxy war between Apple and Google, the provider of the Android mobile OS found in Samsung's hot-selling Galaxy phones.

The latest patent case started last February when Apple filed a lawsuit against Samsung, asking the court to ban the sales of the Nexus, among othre products. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh granted Apple's request in June.

Samsung appealed the ruling and Judge Koh denied the request for a temporary lifting of the ban. Samsung then took the case to the appeals court, which granted a temporary stay on the Nexus ban.

In October, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned the sales ban on Samsung's Galaxy Nexus phone.

Apple then asked the court to reconsider its ruling.