South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co denied on Tuesday that it was close to reaching a settlement with Apple over their tablet-computer patent dispute.

It is not going to be achievable your honor, given the positions advanced by each party, a lawyer for the South Korean firm told a court in Sydney when asked about the prospects for a settlement.

Media reports last week had suggested that Samsung was nearing a deal with Apple, which had brought the action against Samsung as part of its global patent dispute involving the iPad and Samsung's Galaxy 10.1 tablet.

(Reporting by Narayanan Somasundaram and Amy Pyett; Editing by Mark Bendeich)

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