The death of Apple founder Steve Jobs on Wednesday may have shaken the world, particularly the technology world. However, it is not expected to heal the worsening rift between the company that Jobs grew into a $75-billion empire and rising competitor Samsung Electronics of South Korea.

On the same day that Jobs succumbed to pancreatic cancer, Samsung - probably unaware that Jobs died - filed two lawsuits to block the sale of the newly launched Apple iPhone 4S in France and Italy.

Italy and France are the two largest European markets for smartphones.

Samsung claimed the iPhone 4S breached its patent, particularly the wide-band code-division multiple access standards for mobile handsets. Besides the two European nations, Samsung said it plans for seek preliminary injunctions in other countries, even as the two tech giants battle it out in several cases in the Oceania, Asia, Europe and North America continents over patent infringement cases for the iPhone and tablet computer.

"The infringed technology is essential to the reliable functioning of telecom networks and devices.... Apple has continued to flagrantly violate our intellectual property rights and free-ride on our technology, and we will steadfastly protect our intellectual property," Samsung said in a statement quoted by the New York Times.

The court injunction is the latest in 20 ongoing legal disputes over patents between the two companies which are also business partners.

However, their business ties have set aside as the two companies battle for a larger cut of the growing market for smartphones and tablet computers in a post-PC era.

Mr Jobs personally tried to fix Apple's patent row with Samsung, but failed. Former Apple Chief Patent Counsel Richard Lutton told the Sydney Federal Court on Sept. 28 that the Apple founder personally called Samsung in 2010 to avoid a messy legal battle and to avoid a parts supply problem for Apple's iPad. Samsung manufactures touchscreens and memory chips used by Apple.

Apple launched the iPhone 4S on Tuesday, a day before Mr Jobs passed away. The phone used both GSM and CDMA systems which would permit owners to use it on any mobile network in the world without a need for modification. Apple started to sell the CDMA version of the iPhone 4 in January, which limited its users to the U.S. Verizon network. France and Italy use the GSM network.

Industry observers believe the two companies would eventually settle their legal differences. Mr Jobs' death may or may not play a vital role in settling the dispute.

Apple has not commented on the latest Samsung legal move since the California-based company's officials are probably busy mourning their founder's death and preparing for more technology and legal challenges in a post-Jobs era.

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