Australian Retailer Ready for 'Cat and Mouse' Game with Apple over Galaxy Tab Sales

Late last month, we noted that Apple had begun notifying Australian resellers of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 of the injunction prohibiting the sale of the device in that country. While the injunction applies only to Samsung, Apple's notice of infringement would make it easy for the company to target the retailers with separate suits.

dmavo galaxy tab sales
dMavo's note of defiance on its Galaxy Tab 10.1 order page
(Note has been removed since this weekend)

But The Sydney Morning Herald reports that at least one retailer is prepared to stand up to what it believes is a bluff on Apple's part, taking steps to engage in a cat and mouse game with the company.

At least one, dMavo, said it had created a separate entity in Europe to place it outside the jurisdiction of Australian courts, with the tablets delivered to customers from Asia.

"We have a new entity established and a separate server - just to deal with the tablet orders - that is undergoing testing as of last Saturday," dMavo managing director Wojtek Czarnocki said.

"Was Apple just bluffing or do they really want to play the cat and mouse game? We're up for it."

Czarnocki notes that the changes imposed very little cost for his company while opening the door for a flood of sales with the injunction against Samsung itself hampering supplies from other channels. dMavo has indeed been experiencing server troubles over the past few days, as interest in the company's offerings and the publicity surrounding its stand against Apple has tested its capacity.

One patent attorney consulted by The Sydney Morning Herald suggests, however, that dMavo may have opened itself up to significantly more risk with the moves demonstrating its open defiance of the injunction. If dMavo's Galaxy Tab revenue is shown to funnel back to Australia in any way or have other connections to Australian companies, the company could be found liable for infringement.

[Patent specialist Mark] Summerfield said Apple might now be compelled to take action to avoid appearing weak. He said Australian judges would not look kindly on dMavo's attempts to bypass the injunction and "are almost obliged to find some way to punish it to ensure that the courts retain their authority".

For its part, dMavo is banking on a November 25th court date for Samsung's appeal of the injunction, hoping that Samsung can win its case and have the injunction lifted before Apple can come after dMavo.

Popular Stories

iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Next Week With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
apple launch feb 2025 alt

What to Expect From the 'Apple Launch' Next Week

Thursday February 13, 2025 11:48 am PST by
Apple has yet to announce any new devices this year, but that could change starting next week. Apple CEO Tim Cook today said to "get ready" for a "launch" on Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," said Cook, in a social media post. The post includes an #AppleLaunch hashtag, along with a short video featuring an animated Apple logo inside of a circle....
apple launch feb 2025

Tim Cook Teases an 'Apple Launch' Next Wednesday

Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag. The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle. Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro With All-New Camera Bar Design Allegedly Revealed

Thursday February 13, 2025 5:49 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro will feature three rear cameras arranged in a familiar triangular layout, but the cameras will be housed in an all-new rectangular camera bar with rounded corners, according to YouTube channel Front Page Tech. iPhone 17 Pro camera design render created by Asher for Front Page Tech In a video uploaded today, Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser said the camera ...
iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

'New' iPhone SE Product Listing Appears on French Website

Wednesday February 12, 2025 6:49 am PST by
As the wait continues for Apple's long-rumored, fourth-generation iPhone SE, French electronics retailer Boulanger has prematurely published a product listing for a "new" model of the iPhone SE. The placeholder page says the device is "coming soon," but it offers no further information, and the price shown is obviously not real. The listing was spotted by a reader of the French technology...
M4 Mac mini Apple Video

Apple's Refurbished Mac Mini Pricing Has a Problem

Thursday February 13, 2025 6:20 am PST by
Apple this week began selling refurbished Mac mini models with the M4 chip for the first time, but this has led to a pricing conundrum. In the United States, Apple is offering a refurbished Mac mini with the base M4 chip, 256GB of storage, 16GB of RAM, and Gigabit Ethernet for $509, down from $599 new. This is the standard 15% discount that Apple offers on refurbished Macs. The issue is...
iPhone 16 Apple Store

iPhone 17 in New Sizes This Year: What to Know

Thursday February 13, 2025 2:45 am PST by
Last year, Apple tweaked iPhone 16 Pro screen sizes to make them bigger than 2023's iPhone 15 Pro models, and this year we are also expecting a change in the size of the displays in the iPhone 17 lineup. Here's what we know. Standard iPhone 17 Apple could introduce a new display size for the standard iPhone 17 model in 2025. The iPhone 17 could measure in at 6.3 inches, up from 6.1 inches,...
iphone air concept weis

iPhone 17 Air Could Look Like This in Real Life

Friday February 14, 2025 3:41 am PST by
There have been several alleged leaked details of the iPhone 17 Air, Apple's rumored new slim iPhone, but images have been limited to grainy shots taken in component factories. However, this hyper-realistic concept created by WEIS Studio gives us the best idea yet of what Apple's thin device might actually look like. The concept design is inspired by recent leaks indicating that the device...

Top Rated Comments

jsbaugh Avatar
173 months ago
Hey dMavo, nobody buys Android tablets so don't waste your money fighting Apple on this.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Abyssgh0st Avatar
173 months ago
The bravery is respectable, and the stupidity observable. Good luck, retailer v.s. (1st or 2nd) most valuable company in the world.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ChazUK Avatar
173 months ago
Successful publicity stunt is successful.

The fact that Samsung has said they will not honour warranty on these imported units would put me off immensely.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
*LTD* Avatar
173 months ago
I find it interesting in reading the Steve Jobs book that Wozniak's dad always taught Woz to hang in the middle, never be #1 or at the top of anything.
Except for sales and profits. Apple is a business.

Try saying that in a shareholders meeting: "Guys, let's not be #1. Let's hang back and be somewhere in the middle. Cool?"

Might as well pick out the cardboard box for your stuff that same night.

Being at the top naturally entails risk. You either manage it and continue innovating and growing, or you don't. That's business.

Let's get real. How many also-rans wouldn't kill to be in Apple's place?



----------

The bravery is respectable, and the stupidity observable. Good luck, retailer v.s. (1st or 2nd) most valuable company in the world.
Looks like an Aussie version of Psystar. We all know how stuff like that turns out.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RafaelT Avatar
173 months ago
I have a feeling that this will not end well for dMavo if they continue to press the issue.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
batchtaster Avatar
173 months ago
Stand against Apple my ass. They're an Apple reseller: http://dmavo.com.au/search=macbook/

If they really meant it, they'd pull all their lucrative Mac and iDevice products.

And if I was Apple, I'd certainly honor dMavo's wishes and cancel their reseller authorization for them.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)