TOKYO, Sept 8 | Thu Sep 8, 2011 3:11am EDT
California-based Apple is seeking the suspension of sales of Samsung's handsets in Japan, as well as 100 million yen ($1.3 million) in damages, Kyodo added, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The suit is the latest in a series of patent battles between the two firms around the world. ($1 = 77.325 Japanese Yen) (Reporting by Isabel Reynolds; Editing by Edmund Klamann)
(Adds details, background)
TOKYO, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Apple is suing Samsung Electronics in Japan, accusing it of patent violations relating to the iPhone and iPad, Kyodo news agency said, the latest salvo in a series of patent battles between the two firms.
California-based Apple has filed a suit with the Tokyo District Court seeking the suspension of sales of Samsung Galaxy phones in Japan, as well as 100 million yen ($1.3 million) in damages, Kyodo added, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The first hearing was held on Wednesday, Kyodo said.
With the patent battles, Apple is taking on the biggest maker of the Android-based gadgets that threaten its dominance of the smartphone and tablet markets.
Last month Samsung announced it would delay the launch of its latest Galaxy tablet computer in Australia until after a court ruling in late September. Last week a German court banned sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 7.7
A spokesman for the Tokyo District Court said he could not comment on pending cases, while staff at Samsung's Japan office were not immediately available for comment. ($1 = 77.325 Japanese Yen) (Reporting by Isabel Reynolds and Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
TAIPEI, Sept 8 | Thu Sep 8, 2011 3:34am EDT
TAIPEI, Sept 8 (Reuters) - HTC Corp has extended its lawsuit against Apple Inc to include nine more patents the Taiwanese firm acquired from Google Inc last week, underscoring intensifying legal actions between the Google camp and Apple.
The world's No. 5 smartphone maker said on Thursday it has amended its existing complaint ( ) with the International Trade Commission (ITC) and U.S. District Court of Delaware against Apple over three patent infringements.
It has also filed an additional case in Delaware alleging patent infringement by Apple's iOS devices and Mac computers.
"HTC will continue to protect its patented inventions against infringement from Apple until such infringement stops," said Grace Lei, HTC's general counsel, in a statement.
The Taiwanese company, one of the largest manufacturers of devices based on Google's Android operating system, is embroiled in an acrimonious patent war with arch-rival Apple, which has filed several patent lawsuits against the Taiwan-based company in Delaware in the last two years. .
"We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours," Apple said in a statement on Thursday, in response to the latest HTC move.
HTC is also seeing its rapid growth slow in an increasingly competitive market. Its sales in August barely grew over the month before .
Increasing lawsuits among hi-tech companies have led some to seek extra protection by acquiring patents from elsewhere.
Google's biggest deal ever, acquiring Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc for $12.5 billion, was such an attempt to buy insurance against increasingly aggressive legal attacks from rivals. (Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Jonathan Standing)
