Apple has filed a U.S. trade complaint against Samsung in hopes of blocking the import of the company's Galaxy S phone and Galaxy Tab touchscreen tablet as the legal dispute between the two companies ramps up.
The new filing comes days after the Cupertino, Calif.-based company asked a federal court to bring sales of the aforementioned devices to a standstill in the U.S. The complaint was lodged with the U.S. International Trade Commission on Tuesday, countering patent infringement claims made by Samsung to the ITC last week in an attempt to block imports of Appleâs iPhone and iPad.
âSamsung has followed each of Appleâs groundbreaking products with imitation products that incorporate Appleâs technology and distinctive design,â Apple wrote in the complaint. If the commission decides to pursue an investigation, the case will be heard in 15 to 18 months.
Apple and Samsung began their legal dispute back in April when Apple accused the Korean electronics giant of copying the look and feel of its devices. The disagreement has since spread to courts in four countries (1, 2). During the caseâs proceedings, Apple was granted a request to see copies of Samsungâs unreleased products, while a counter-claim from Samsung was denied.
In addition to competing with the company in the smartphone and tablet markets, Samsung serves as one of Appleâs key component partners, supplying chips for most of their leading products. Given the two close partnership between the two companies, some analysts have been surprised by the intensity of their legal disagreement.
âIt has become very public and very ugly, very quickly,â Bloomberg reported Gleacher & Co. analyst Brian Marshall as saying. âTheyâre just going after each otherâs throats.â
Marshall believes that an import ban on Samsungâs devices is doubtful and predicts that both companies will eventually reach a settlement and cross-licensing deal. According to the analyst, Apple âmay not have a choiceâ in licensing its intellectual property to Samsung, which has a number of patents Apple needs.
As tensions between the two companies have mounted, some have speculated that Apple plans to reduce its reliance on its rival. Recent rumors suggest the iPhone maker will go with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company instead of Samsung for its âA6â chip in 2012. Meanwhile, Samsung is restructuring its component operations and could be planning to spin off its semiconductor and LCD business to avoid a conflict of interest.