Samsung attempts to block sales of Apple's iPhone 4S in Japan, Australia

As noted by The Wall Street Journal on Monday, preliminary injunctions were filed by Samsung in the Tokyo District Court and in the New South Wales Registry in an effort to halt sales of the newly launched iPhone 4S. Also included in Samsung's complaint are the iPhone 4 and the iPad 2.

The latest legal action follows attempts earlier this month by Samsung to block sales of the iPhone 4S in France and Italy. Those complaints were filed just a day after the iPhone 4S was announced, and before the handset even went on sale.

That Samsung is hoping to bar sales of the iPhone 4S for alleged patent infringement in Japan and Australia is also noteworthy because those are two of the initial launch countries for Apple's latest smartphone. In addition to those two, the iPhone 4S debuted last Friday in the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, and the U.K., racking up four million sales in its first three days.

Samsung's attempts to block the sale of Apple devices have faltered thus far. Last week a Dutch judge refused Samsung's request to halt sales of the iPhone and iPad in the Netherlands.

While Samsung's complaints have failed to gain traction, Apple has successfully won bans on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in both Germany and Australia. Each company has accused the other of infringing on patented inventions, and the ensuing lawsuits filed by both companies span across the globe.

Though the legal battle between Samsung and Apple continues to grow, Samsung remains a key supplier of Apple's and builds its custom A5 processor found in the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S. One report from earlier Monday claimed that Apple plans to stick with Samsung as the primary assembler of its anticipated "A6" chip, expected to arrive in a third-generation iPad in the first half of 2012.