Samsung Fires Back with Patent Lawsuit Against Apple
Posted 04/22/2011 at 4:56am
| by J.R. Bookwalter
In a move that surprised virtually no one in the tech community, Korean electronics giant Samsung has lobbed a countersuit right back at Apple, claiming Cupertino has infringed on 10 of their own patents involving power reduction, 3G technology and wireless data communication.
Reuters is reporting that Samsung Electronics Co. isn’t taking Apple’s recent accusations -- and legal moves -- over claims that the Korean electronics company has “slavishly” copied Cupertino with their smartphones and tablets. Late Thursday, it was revealed that Samsung has fired back with a volley of patent lawsuits and a call for Apple to stop infringing on them.
“Samsung said in a statement Friday 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,” Reuters reports. “Samsung said the suits, filed in South Korea, Japan and Germany, involved 10 alleged infringements of patents mainly involving power reduction during data transmission, 3G technology for reducing errors during data transmission, and wireless data communication technology.”
"Samsung is responding actively to the legal action taken against us in order to protect our intellectual property and to ensure our continued innovation and growth in the mobile communications business," the Korean consumer electronics company said in the brief statement.
Apple claims that Samsung has gone too far in copying the look and feel of its iconic iPhone, iPod touch and iPad with the Korean company’s Galaxy S series of Android-based devices, which includes -- wait for it -- smartphones, media players and tablets. Ironically, Apple depends on Samsung for key components such as silicon chips and LCD displays, and a prolonged legal battle could jeopardize what has been a fruitful business partnership for both companies.
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(Image courtesy of Reuters)