Samsung Electronics Co. said Monday it has requested a U.S. District Court delay implementation of a court decision that blocks the tech giant from selling its Nexus phones in the United States.

On Friday, the U.S. District Court of Northern California granted Apple Inc. a preliminary injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Nexus phone, an Android-based smartphone co-developed by Samsung and Google Inc., following claims by the iPhone maker that Samsung infringed on several of its patents.

The preliminary injunction, which would block the Nexus maker from selling the high-end device in the U.S., can go into effect as soon as Apple pays a deposit of roughly US$96 million in court.

Samsung said it has filed a motion to suspend the execution of the injunction for the entire duration of its appeal, which would allow the Nexus phone to stay on sale until then.

The South Korean tech giant expressed disappointment over the preliminary injunction and vowed to take necessary measures.

"Samsung is disappointed, as the court's ruling will restrict American consumer choice in the smartphone market," Samsung said. "We are currently working closely with Google to resolve this matter, as the patent in question concerns Google's unified search function."

The Friday ruling dealt a second blow to Samsung less than a week after the district court issued a preliminary injunction that blocks U.S. sales of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet upon Apple's request.

Samsung had said it would seek necessary legal steps, but added the move wouldn't have a significant business impact.

Meanwhile, analysts said the Friday ruling may have a bigger impact than the preliminary injunction on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet.

"Given that U.S. monthly sales of Galaxy Nexus phones are around 100,000-200,000 units, the impact may not seem big," said Eugene Kim, an analyst at Taurus Securities Co.

"However, what's important is that the Galaxy Nexus is a reference phone for Google's Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. Whether all mobile phones carrying the Ice Cream Sandwich operating system will be subject to patent infringement will be the key issue."

Samsung and Apple, the world's two largest smartphone makers, have been embroiled in a patent war that involves roughly 30 lawsuits in 10 countries in Asia, Europe and the U.S.

Shares of Samsung closed at 1,174,000 won ($1,026.7) on the Seoul bourse, down 2.25 percent from Friday's close. (Yonhap)