X
Business

Samsung claims iPad mini, iPad 4, new iPod touch also infringe patents

Samsung believes that "good cause exists" to add three more Apple devices to the original infringement claim because they were not yet released back when the original filings were made in June 2012.
Written by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Contributing Writer
22-11-2012-11-36-26.jpg

Korean electronics giant Samsung has added three new Apple products to the list of products that the company claims infringes on its patents.

In a filing to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Samsung has added the iPad mini, the new iPad 4, and the fifth-generation iPod touch to an existing lawsuit that covers devices such as the iPhone 5, iPad 4, and earlier iPod touch devices.

According to the filing, Samsung believes that "good cause exists" to add these three devices to the original infringement claim, "because Apple’s new products were not yet available when Samsung submitted its original contentions on June 15, 2012 or its first motion to supplement its infringement contentions on October 1, 2012."

The filing goes on to say that the "iPod Touch 5, iPad 4, and iPad mini have the same accused functionality as the versions of the iPod Touch and iPad that are already part of this case" and that " proof of infringement of the patents-in-suit by the iPod Touch 5, iPad 4, and iPad Mini will be substantially the same as for other Apple devices already accused of infringement in this litigation."

In other words, if the earlier version of the iPad and iPod touch infringe on Samsung's patents, then these devices will also infringe on the same patents because the design and functionality of the devices are essentially the same.

Samsung has also asked the court for clarification as to whether its original filings properly allege infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,672,470, a patent covering "audio/video device having a volume control function for an external audio reproduction unit by using volume control buttons of a remote controller and volume control method therefor."

On Wednesday, Samsung's chief executive Shin Jong-kyun told The Korean Times: "Without Samsung-owned wireless patents, it’s impossible for... Apple to produce its handsets."

Samsung and Apple are no strangers to court battles, having been engaged in vicious patent battle that extends across four continents since April 2011. Back in August, a court awarded Apple over $1 billion in damages after upholding claims that Samsung had infringing several iPhone and iPad patents with its Galaxy S-series smartphones. Samsung has since appealed against the ruling.

But it hasn't all been going Apple's way, with courts in the Netherlands, the U.K. and Japan dismissing Apple's claims of infringement by Samsung.

Earlier this month market research firm Strategy Analytics released a report suggesting that Samsung's Galaxy S III had ousted Apple's iPhone 4S as best-selling smartphone.

Image source: Apple.

Editorial standards