Samsung can continue to sell the Galaxy Nexus in the United States after winning the latest stage in its patent dispute with Apple.
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, based in Washington DC, overturned a California judge's order blocking Samsung from selling its smartphone amid the lawsuit by Apple.
Apple accuses Samsung of stealing its smartphone and tablet computer technology.
A jury in September agreed with the company, and ordered Samsung to pay $1bn. Samsung has now appealed against the judgement.
The Washington appeals court said Apple had failed to show that any of the patent violations it accused Samsung of in regards to the Galaxy would immediately and irreparably hurt its own smartphone sales.
It said judge Lucy Koh had abused her discretion in granting Apple a preliminary injunction earlier this year.
Ms Koh, a California District Court judge, ruled Samsung had copied critical features of the iPhone and iPad.
The jury also found Apple did not infringe any of Samsung's asserted patents.
Samsung and Apple are locked in a global patent battle in 10 countries, including the US.
In August, a court in Tokyo dismissed Apple's claim that South Korean firm Samsung had infringed its patent.
The stakes are high as the two technology giants fight for the top spot in the booming smartphone market.
The Galaxy Nexus is a third-generation touchscreen Android smartphone developed by a partnership between Google and Samsung.
Apple, meanwhile, recently unveiled the iPhone 5, with the iPad mini expected to be announced before Christmas.
Samsung's own tablet, the Nexus 7, won a T3 Gadget Award on Monday.
