Samsung Electronics Co has made a proposal to Apple Inc. in order to resolve their patent dispute in Australia concerning touch-screen technology, according to Sydney court.

The details about the proposal were not given by Samsung lawyer David Catterns while Apple lawyer Steven Burley told the court that time would be needed for considering the proposal.

The proposal from Samsung is an attempt to end the dispute over patent technology in Australia that has restrained it from selling its Galaxy 10.1 tablet in the country.

Apple claims Samsung has infringed patents for its iPhone and iPad in Australia. This is part of a wider patent battle between the two companies that has come up in courts on four continents.

Earlier, Samsung agreed to put off selling the Galaxy 10.1 in Australia with Federal Court Justice Annabelle Bennett ruling on Apple's request for an injunction barring the sale of the Samsung tablets until a court rules on its patent infringement claim.

The hearing is set to resume on October 4, after a public holiday in New South Wales.

This week, Samsung agreed the withdrawal two features from the Galaxy 10.1 which purportedly violated Apple's patents. As a result of this agreement, their dispute in Australia has been cut down to the one patent over touch- screen display technology.

Apple and Samsung are quickly becoming the top rivals in the smartphone business. Apple is expected to introduce the so-called iPhone 5 next month, reportedly at an event scheduled for Oct. 4.

The increasing demand and prospects of the Samsung devices have led Apple to resort to suing Samsung and seeking to stop sales worldwide. Samsung has responded by seeking a ban on the sales of Apple's iPhone 5, charging that the iPhones and the iPad 2 are violating the multiple wireless technology patents it holds.

Earlier, Samsung announced that it had sold more than 10 million units of the Galaxy S2 smartphone since its launch in April. The sales rate, however, pales in comparison to that for iPhone 4, which hit 1.7 million in three days. Nevertheless, Samsung has become the biggest competitor for Apple's iPhone.

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