Sam Oliver
The lawsuit was made known after it was announced by Samsung on Monday, but it was originally filed in a court in Paris in July. The first hearing is expected to occur in December, according to Agence France-Presse.
"The complaint focuses on three technology patents, and not on the design of the tablets," a Samsung spokeswoman reportedly said. That's different from Apple's own lawsuit in Germany, in which the iPad maker won a permanent ban against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany last week.
The complaint is said to be related to three Smasung patents covering UMTS, or third-generation high-speed data transfer on cell networks. It targets the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, as well as the first- and second-generation iPad models with 3G radios.
Unlike Germany and Australia, where Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 has been barred from sale, the touchscreen tablet is currently available in France. Samsung said the device has sold well since it launched there in mid-August.
Samsung's lawsuit is yet another in a growing list of disputes between it and Apple. Just last week, another hearing was held in Japan, where Apple has asked the government to bar sales of Samsung's Galaxy S, Galaxy S II and Galaxy Tab 7.
In late August, a Netherlands judge blocked sales of Samsung's Galaxy smartphones in Europe, while the company has also been forced to delay the launch of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia after a court there barred its sale.
Apple fired first in the legal battle, accusing Samsung of copying the look and feel of its highly successful iPad and iPhone devices with its first suit filed in April. Samsung quickly shot back, accusing Apple of violating several patents it owns related to power consumption and 3G data transmission with mobile devices.
AppleInsider Staff
Malcolm Owen
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31 Comments
Samsung is about to realise that this will quickly backfire as France & Germany are both part of the Eurozone, and the same rules apply.
Are all these intellectual property battles due to the general decline of the world wide economy, and this is the path to profit? Is this the legal divisions in these companies becoming profit centers? Are these driven by ego? Or is this the new marketing scheme, destroy the competition from entering the game at all. What ever happens to cross licensing?
I mean, what AI has to do now is create a new section just for legal battles. Its kinda boring stuff to read. I mean Corporate legal battles are protracted and dull, and to me, add little to the interest of the site.
I suggest a new sister site: Law and Order : Cupertino ( Follow this with the startup chime sound)
Where billion dollar corporations slag at other billion dollar corporation in East Texas, land of the indigenous patent savvy juror
The ban in the Netherlands was only for imports from outside the EU zone into the Netherlands. The Netherlands functions as the distribution center for Europe. If samsung change the distribution center to France the phones can be imported there and distributed throughout Europe.
Even the German ban only goes for the direct import into Germany from outside the EU. Shops can sell existing stock and restock from a European distributor as long as it not directly from Samsumg.
One of the catches of having open boarders within the EU.
My reading of it anyway.
Even the German ban only goes for the direct import into Germany from outside the EU. Shops can sell existing stock and restock from a European distributor as long as it not directly from Samsumg.
As long as people keep repeating this, I'll keep repeating:
WHAT SELF-RESPECTING RETAILER IS GOING TO IMPORT A BANNED PRODUCT NO ONE WAS BUYING ANYWAY?!
Samsung is about to realise that this will quickly backfire as France & Germany are both part of the Eurozone, and the same rules apply.
The Netherlands, France and Germany are all part of the Eurozone which simply means they use the Euro as a common currency.
They are still separate countries with their own laws, the same rules do not apply, otherwise how can you buy Samsung Tabs in France when it's banned in Germany?