It may have been relatively quiet on the patent front in comparison to the no-holds barred playground that we have been used to over the last twelve months, but Samsung is ensuring that the litigation surrounding alleged patent infringements will continue well into next year. We all remember the major Apple victory earlier this year in a San Jose courtroom, but it appears that Samsung is now going on the offensive side by ensuring that a number of Apple’s recently released products are added through a court filing that should see the two technology powerhouses duking it out once again in another bitter legal battle.
In a document that has been filed with the courts today, the Samsung legal team have taken the opportunity to ask for the new iPad mini, the fourth-generation iPad and the new range of iPod touch devices to be added to the list of devices that they believe infringe upon their owned patents. The range of new devices that have been included in the document are in addition to the iPhone 5 that had already been accounted for in a previous filing with the court.
The new filing and request to add the additional devices fall under the existing case that has been ongoing with Samsung, claiming that pretty much all of Apple’s new iOS devices infringe on the same patents that have been in play throughout the case.
As you might expect, Apple aren’t simply sitting back, and are waiting for the storm to come from Samsung. They themselves have counter claimed that the Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy S III as well as multiple other devices are in breach of their own patents.
Although Samsung has officially filed the necessary court documents to ensure that the iPad mini and iPod touches are included as part of their claim, they won’t actually be officially accepted into the litigation until the overseeing magistrate judge actually approves the filing. A number of experts and analysts are suggesting that the stakes are a lot higher for both companies than the previous legal wrangle, with the chances of a settlement being on the horizon before this actually sees its day in court next year.
(via TheVerge)
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