The High Court in Australia Friday cleared the way for South Korea's Samsung to sell its Galaxy 10.1 tablet in the country when it dismissed iPad manufacturer Apple's bid to have a ban extended.

Late last month, Samsung won an appeal against a temporary ban on sales of the Galaxy device in Australia, a rare victory for the company in its legal tussle with its US rival.

But Apple immediately won a stay of the orders. However, its bid to extend the ban was denied on Friday.

"Special leave will be refused with costs," the full bench said in its decision.

The Sydney courtroom battle is part of a wider global war in which two of the world's biggest technology companies are vying for supremacy in the US$100 billion market for tablet computers and smartphones.