Samsung has now filed a direct suit against Apple in France, the first time the fight has moved to that country, notes “mocoNews.net” (http://macte.ch/Bp7sp). This follows the news that Apple looks to be opening another front in its patent defense, with 40 new design patents now registered in China, the article adds.
All totaled, Samsung and Apple now have suits against each other in four countries in Europe: Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, and now France Then there’s Japan, Korea, the U.S. and Australia.
A little background: on June 17 in the US, Apple amended and expanded its complaint against Samsung, asserting more patents and other intellectual property rights than before against an extended list of allegedly infringing products.
In April Samsung filed patent lawsuits against Apple over the U.S. firm’s iPhone and iPad after Apple claimed Samsung’s smartphones and tablets “slavishly” copied its products. This followed an Apple lawsuit filed on April 15 in the U.S. that claimed Samsung’s mobile phones and Galaxy Tab “slavishly” copied the iPhone and iPad.
The lawsuit, filed April 15 in US District Court in Northern California, alleges Samsung copied the look, product design and product user interface of Apple’s products. Samsung violated Apple’s patents and trademarks, the suit alleges.
The Samsung counter-lawsuits didn’t directly respond to the Apple suit. Rather they accused Apple of violating patents covering cellphone transmission technologies. Samsung said in a statement that Apple’s iPhone and iPad infringe Samsung’s 10 mobile technology patents and it called for Apple to stop infringing its technology and compensate the company.
— Dennis Sellers