Computer giant Apple Inc has launched legal proceedings in Australia against Samsung Electronics Co, accusing the South Korean firm of infringing its patents with its Galaxy Tab 10.1, papers showed.
Samsung is already embroiled in a patent dispute over smartphones and tablet computers with Apple in the US, in which both sides have filed infringement claims against the other.
Documents presented to the Federal Court of Australia show Apple is seeking to permanently ban the sale or promotion of the latest Galaxy Tab 10.1, which would compete with Apple’s iPad, in Australia.
Apple says Samsung’s tablet infringes 10 of its Australian patents, according to a court document.
The Galaxy Tab 10.1, launched in its home market last month, is not yet available in Australia and Samsung said Apple’s complaint relates to a variant of the slim tablet which it had never intended to sell in Australia.
“Apple Inc filed a complaint with the Federal Court of Australia involving a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 variant that Samsung Electronics had no plans of selling in Australia,” Samsung said in a statement yesterday.
A Galaxy Tab 10.1 for the Australian market would be released “in the near future,” it added.
Samsung has released its touchscreen Galaxy Tab 10.1 in five countries, including the US.
Separately, Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp (宏達電) said yesterday it has filed a new patent complaint against Apple in London, shifting the ongoing legal war between the two companies to Europe for the first time.
HTC subsidiary HTC Europe Co filed the lawsuit on July 29 in London with the High Court of Justice, Chancery Division, which deals with intellectual property and company law matters.
Maggie Cheng (鄭雅蓮), a spokeswoman for HTC, said the company had asked the court to reexamine the validity of Apple’s patents, but declined to reveal which patents were being targeted.
Earlier this week, graphics chipset designer S3 Graphics Co, which was purchased by HTC recently for US$300 million to strengthen its patent portfolio and the patent protection of its products, filed a similar complaint against Apple with the US Patent and Trademark Office.
Additional reporting by CNA
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