Well, it looks like the shoe is on the other foot now. Samsung has filed a patent complaint against Apple in France and this complaint is not about design, but rather the technology inside Apple’s products.
Apple’s famous lawsuit against Samsung was for the design of their phones and tablets, which it says look suspiciously like iOS products. The Cupertino-based company also recently won a case against Samsung over technology patents in Germany.
The information on the patent complaint right now is vague, but the issue seems to revolve around three Samsung patents for UMTS mobile phone technology. It impacts the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and the 3G versions of the first-generation iPad and the iPad 2.
The battle between Apple and Samsung continues to escalate as the two fight back and forth with legal attacks. So far, Samsung is losing, as a court in Düsseldorf, Germany announced a ban last week on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 throughout the country. It so obviously copies the Apple iPad — The designs are remarkably similar.
Samsung also lost a court case against Apple in the Netherlands, where court placed a ban on three Samsung smartphones, effective August 24th. But the Android phone manufacturer will not rest until Apple gets its comeuppance. Samsung has a counter-claim that will be dealt with on September 26th and a lawsuit requesting a ban of Apple products in South Korea.
One must question whether the claims are legitimate or just for a bit of revenge. Well, I guess turnabout is fair play.
[via AFP]