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Samsung ramps up Apple fight: Now seeks ban in Australia, Japan

As Samsung appeals sales bans in place in Australia and the Netherlands, the smartphone giant is seeking a wider ban of the iPhone 4S in both Australia and Japan.
Written by Zack Whittaker, Contributor

Samsung is seeking a wider ban of Apple's recently released iPhone 4S in Australia and Japan, after a series of setbacks last week in the courts, threatening the future of certain Samsung products in the United States.

The South Korean smartphone giant said it filed today for preliminary injunctions on the sale of the iPhone 4S in the Tokyo District Court, and the New South Wales Registry, Australia, in a bid to prevent its alleged infringed patents from reaching the market. The Wall Street Journal reports that in the filings to the Japanese court, Samsung also asked for the iPhone 4 and iPad 2 tablet to be barred from sale in the country.

It follows similar filings in France and Italy, leading to wide speculation that other jurisdictions would be targeted, as Samsung claimed Apple infringed a number of its core networking patents.

The filings highlight the importance of Samsung's smartphone sales to the company, only days after an Australian court issued a temporary ban of sales, requested by Apple, of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the country. Samsung said it will appeal the injunction.

The tit-for-tat battle has continued since April, when the two companies began suing and counter-suing each other over patents pertaining to the design of smartphones and tablets and wireless networking.

A Dutch ban is still in place, where an appeal by Samsung fell through, with a sales injunction maintaining force in the Netherlands. Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet is currently banned in other parts of Europe after Apple's bid to block sales was successful.

Late last week, a U.S. district judge said during a hearing that Samsung's Galaxy tablets infringe Apple's patents, while at the same time questioning Apple's patent validity under U.S. law. Apple will have to prove that its patents were infringed, while showing that the patents in question are valid under U.S. jurisdiction.

A formal order will be issued soon.

The iPhone 4S, which went on sale last week, surpassed the 1 million pre-order mark within the first 24 hours of sale. Samsung currently holds the highest mobile marketshare in the United States, with many of its smartphones running the Android mobile operating system.

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