Samsung Electronics Co. recently released its latest smartphone model in the market which is the Samsung Galaxy S III. The release of Galaxy S III is considered as one of the most anticipated release in the smartphone market due to its improve performance and high quality display. In line with this, Apple is seeking to ban the official release of Samsung Galaxy S III in the market especially in the U.S. through filing a patent dispute.

Apple vs. Samsung: U.S. Edition

Apple recently filed a preliminary injunction motion against Samsung Electronics Co. regarding its latest smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S III. The injunction was filed in the District Court for the Northern District of California in order to put a stop in the release of Samsung Galaxy S III in the U.S. market on June 21, 2012. Aside from that, Apple also requested that the smartphone should be added in the company's motion for a preliminary injunction against Samsung Galaxy Nexus. This specific injunction against the Galaxy Nexus was filed last February over the use of at least four patents. Apple is also in the process of examining if they would still add two infringes against Samsung. The feature being examined is the slide-to-unlock patent as well as the autocomplete patent.

Samsung is not taking this case lightly because the company believes that Apple has no right to file an injunction against the Samsung Galaxy S III. William Price, the attorney for Samsung responded against the accusation stating that the supposed infringing features are not responsible for the sales of Galaxy phones and therefore could not be considered as a liable case against the company. He also added this statement stating "there is no advertising or marketing on these features at all." Samsung Galaxy S III is slated to be released on June 21, 2012 and it has managed to get the five major carriers in the U.S. to include the Samsung Galaxy S III in their line up. These carriers include AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and US Cellular.

This is not the first time the two giant smartphone companies have gone in combat regarding patent disputes. Both Apple and Samsung are currently involved with at least 30 patent litigation lawsuits in over 10 countries including Australia.

Apple vs. Samsung: Australian Edition

One of the most high profile patent cases between Apple and Samsung is their legal battle in Australia. In the latest development between the two companies, Samsung is now filing a legal suit against the Australian patent commissioner n order to review the patents that were previously given to Apple. According to Samsung, the patents were given through "ultra vires" which is considered beyond the powers of the patent commissioner. If Samsung's case would be triumphant, the patents given to Apple would cease to exist thus favoring Samsung in this ongoing battle.

Here is the list of the four patents that Samsung included in their case against Apple:

  • Australian Patent Application No. 2009200366: "list scrolling and document translation, scaling and rotation on a touch screen display"
  • Australian Patent Application No. 2008201540: "list scrolling and document translation, scaling and rotation on a touch-screen display"
  • Australian Patent Application No. 2006330724: "unlocking a device by performing gestures on an unlock image"
  • Australian Patent Application No. 2007283771: "portable electronic device for photo management"

This recent case filed by Samsung is considered as an administrative one and would therefore be tackled before the official hearing between Apple and Samsung. The hearing between Samsung and Apple would resume in the Australian patent court on July 23 - October, 2012.