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Samsung Confirms: iPhone 5 To Join The Ranks Of Existing Patent Lawsuits
Samsung has been widely expected to add the iPhone 5 to its ongoing patent disputes with Apple, and today the Korean electronics company made that official, noting in a U.S. court filing uncovered by Reuters that it “will file, in the near future, a motion to amend its infringement contentions to add the iPhone 5 as an accused product.” Samsung expects the iPhone 5 to fall under the same areas of infringement as existing iPhone models.
It’s not surprising that Samsung would target the iPhone 5, given that the device has already been a high-profile hit for its smartphone market leadership rival. The iPhone 5 sold 2 million units in its first 24 hours of pre-order availability, and is on pace to set records again for opening weekend sales, according to most early estimates. Samsung’s primary goal in its legal wrangling with Apple appears to be to counter that company’s aggressive stance with regards to patent litigation, as indicated by another statement received by Reuters from the Korean company.
“Apple continues to take aggressive legal measures that will limit market competition,” the statement reads. “Under these circumstances, we have little choice but to take the steps necessary to protect our innovations and intellectual property rights.”
As a brief recap of the latest blows exchanged by these two in their ongoing legal battle, remember that Apple was awarded over $1 billion in damages by a U.S. court in August, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 remains barred for sale in the U.S., Samsung and Apple saw a split decision in a South Korean court, and Samsung nabbed a win in Japan over the bounce-back visual interface effect used on smartphones and tablets. Samsung throwing the iPhone 5 onto the pile is just another sign that we’re very far from seeing the end of this back-and-forth. It’ll be interesting to see if in addition to existing actions, any new ones arise from the iPhone 5 (perhaps over LTE use in smartphone devices) after its official arrival on Friday.
We reached out to Apple for comment, and will update if we hear back.
2012-09-20 15:50:32
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