A U.S. federal judge recently issued a preliminary injunction against the sale of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1. But does it really matter?

On one level, it was seen as a legal victory for Apple (News - Alert) which claimed patent infringement and brought the complaint that led to the rare ruling, according to a report from TMCnet.

Yet, it may be more symbolic than damaging.

First of all, Samsung (News - Alert) has already asked that the federal court issue a stay on the injunction, and the company will also appeal the lower-court ruling to a federal appeals court. That means it could get thrown out. Arguments on whether U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh should grant the stay are soon to be made in her court.

Even if it isn’t dismissed, the injunction doesn’t affect the somewhat similar Galaxy Tab 10.1 II, which Samsung introduced in May 2012, according a report from CNN. Nor does it cover the Galaxy Tab 8.9, Galaxy Tab 7.0, Galaxy Note, nor any of Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones — such as Galaxy S III, which was just introduced to the market, according to Digital Trends.

“Contrary to most accounts in the press right now, the injunction itself probably doesn’t represent much of a problem for Samsung’s tablet sales,” according to a report from Digital Trends.

It is noteworthy too that Apple on Thursday posted a $2.6 million bond – which relates to the risk posed if Koh issued the temporary injunction in error. “The posting of bonds is a commonly used technique designed to protect a company that's subject to an injunction,” explained CNET. “The money is put up to cover any financial losses a company might incur while its product is not on store shelves if the injunction is eventually overturned.”

It is also noteworthy that Koh first rejected a request by Apple for an injunction on Samsung’s tablet. Her reasoning was Apple’s patent on the iPad design “would eventually be found invalid,” Digital Trends said. “The design was likely too ‘obvious’ to be patentable.” But Apple appealed and that higher court said Koh “erred in finding that Apple’s design patent covering the iPad was likely to be found invalid, and sent the case back for additional review,” Digital Trends said. Soon after, came the preliminary injunction. Also, any future appeal made in the United States may point out that Koh’s preliminary injunction is not in agreement with the reasoning used by a majority of judges on the appeals court.

It is true that two other injunctions have been issued globally on the Galaxy Tab 1. But that is only part of the story. A court in Düsseldorf, Germany issued a permanent injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 from it being sold in Germany. That is still in effect. But Samsung released the slightly different Galaxy 10.1N after the injunction was released in Germany – as a way to keep selling its products. Then, an attempt was made to block selling the Galaxy 10.1N in Germany but the court there said it “is sufficiently distinct from Apple’s products that it doesn’t violate Apple’s designs or seek to compete unfairly against Apple due to similar appearance,” Digital Trends said.

In addition, an injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia was issued and later lifted.

As a way to get around the temporary injunction from Koh, Samsung could offer the Galaxy Tab 10.1N in the United States – or another 10-inch Samsung tablet, according to news reports.

And even if the injunction stays in place, Digital Trends points out that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 “is already nearing the end of its life cycle.”

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2012, taking place Oct. 2-5, in Austin, TX. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO click here.

Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO. Follow us on Twitter.