In what is being seen as a strategic move Samsung Electronics has gone to court seeking a ban on the new iPhone 4S which was launched yesterday by Apple.The legal action which seeks to stop sales of the new Apple device were taken in France and Italy, with Samsung “considering” their options in Australia.
Samsung, which is competing head on with Apple for the lead in the smartphone market said yesterday that their Samsung Galaxy S already has “voice recognition and command capability” as well as an 8 megapixel camera similar to what Apple announced as new features of the iPhone 4S yesterday.
Samsung Electronics said it would try to stop the sale of Apple’s iPhone 4S in France and Italy, aiming to use the product’s rollout as leverage against Apple in a broader fight over the design of smartphones and tablet PCs.
Samsung announced early this morning that it had filed cases against Apple in the two European countries. A Samsung spokesman said it chose France and Italy because they are “key markets” in Europe, citing also “the local legal system and processes.”
“It is no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad,” an Apple spokesman said, “from the shape of the hardware, to the user interface and even the packaging. This kind of blatant copying is wrong and we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.”
The Wall Street Journal said that Courts in Germany and the Netherlands have temporarily halted sales of Samsung smartphones and tablets pending hearings on patent-infringement claims. Courts in Australia and the U.S. next week are expected to decide on other Apple claims for injunctions against Samsung products.
Samsung said that in France and Italy it will accuse Apple of infringing on three Samsung patents used in third-generation transmission technology. The statement called Apple’s infringement “too severe” and added “iPhone 4S should be barred from sales.”
The Samsung spokesman said the company contributed the patents to an international body that standardized 3G technology. By doing so, Samsung agreed to license the patents to any competitor, including Apple, on a fair and reasonable basis. By seeking the injunctions, Samsung is claiming that Apple didn’t access the standards pool properly.
