Samsung Electronics has taken a look at the iPhone 5, admired it, and promptly decided to add it to their existing patent lawsuits against Apple. The Korean company will step up their legal battle with Apple as the two tech giants continue their world wide battle over key technologies both companies use in their smartphones and tablets.
The fresh legal step by the South Korean group comes as Apple booked orders for over 2 million iPhone 5s in the first 24 hours of its availability. The product is due to hit stores on Friday.
Samsung and Apple are currently locked in patent battles that cover 10 countries as the two device makers battle for supremacy in the growing smartphone market.
“Samsung anticipates that it will file, in the near future, a motion to amend its infringement contentions to add the iPhone 5 as an accused product,” the company said in a U.S. court filing.
“Based on information currently available, Samsung expects that the iPhone 5 will infringe the asserted Samsung patents-in-suit in the same way as the other accused iPhone models.”
Apple Korea responded by restating its position that it was the victim of copying, not vice versa.
“At Apple, we value originality and innovation … We make these products to delight our customers, not for our competitors to flagrantly copy.”
Apple scored a huge legal victory in August, when a U.S. jury found the Korean firm infringed numerous Apple patents, and awarded the U.S. firm $1.05 billion in damages.
The jury also said that Apple did not infringe any of Samsung’s asserted patents.
Samsung also received a more recent legal blow when an International Trade Commission judge said last week in a preliminary ruling that Apple did not violate patents owned by Samsung.
