Apple seeks to add newest Samsung devices to patent lawsuit

PanARMENIAN.Net - Apple is seeking to add Samsung’s newest mobile devices to its patent-infringement lawsuit, escalating its dispute with the South Korean company, The Wall Street Journal reported.

According to court documents filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Apple has asked for permission to add six Samsung products: its flagship Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II, as well as the Galaxy Tab 8.9 Wifi, Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, Rugby Pro and Galaxy III Mini. The Galaxy III Mini was unveiled in Europe in the fall and Samsung hasn’t said when it will be available in the U.S. But Apple claims in the filing that the device is being sold in the U.S. through unofficial channels.

The latest claims are part of a patent-infringement lawsuit filed in February by Apple that alleges Samsung violated several of its patents related to the user interface, technology and style of its products. The Cupertino, Calif., company’s first patent lawsuit against Samsung, filed in April 2011, went to trial in August with a damage award of more than $1 billion for Apple.

Samsung is attempting to have that decision thrown out; a hearing on that has been set for Dec 6. At the hearing, the judge is also expected to rule on whether to ban several Samsung products from the U.S. market.

Apple says that it is amending its complaint to include these new products because they involve the same patents as the first lawsuit. This latest suit is scheduled for trial in March 2014.

“If Apple were not allowed to supplement now, Apple would be required to bring an entirely separate suit against the new products, involving exactly the same patents, patent claims, and legal theories,” Apple said in the filing, according to The Journal.

Samsung earlier this month amended its own patent-infringement complaint against Apple, adding the iPad Mini, fourth-generation iPad and fifth-generation iPod Touch.