Apple has dropped a ‘cross-appeal’ filed in its ongoing and numerous lawsuits involving Samsung, ending the prospect of a block on the sale of some devices from the South Korean vendor – which have all been replaced anyway.

According to The Register, the sales bar would have applied to old Galaxy-branded tablets and smartphones, which have now been discontinued by the vendor due to their old age.

And this indeed shows one of the major drawbacks of the litigation strategy the companies are following: by the time the wheels of justice have turned, the industry has largely moved on to the next generation of products anyway.

Specialist website FOSS Patents said that although the two companies do not appear to be closer to a settlement, “the dispute continues to lose steam every month, and noticeably so”. It noted that last month the pair had agreed to drop action related to an earlier US ITC ruling, which has “no commercial effect whatsoever because the ITC had cleared Samsung’s workarounds”.

Reports earlier this year said that Apple and Samsung were holding talks about resolving their dispute, after Apple agreed to a truce with Google. This was seen as indicating that neither party was confident they held a winning hand: the ongoing spat with Samsung, in contrast, seems to mean that neither wants to blink first.

While the companies are unlikely to reach agreement on their respective intellectual properties, they may opt for a ‘ceasefire’ to bring an end to a long-running legal battle that has seen victories and losses on both sides.