Submitted by Marshall Walker on
It looks like Apple has no intention of slowing down its patent war against Samsung until every Samsung Galaxy device is banned from the planet. Apple has moved the battlefield to Japan, where they hope to block sales of the Galaxy S and Galaxy S II smartphones, as well as the Galaxy 7 tablet. Apple has been successful in stopping Samsung from selling and advertising their Galaxy devices in Germany and Australia, and are looking to do the same in Japan. They're also seeking 100 million yen ($1.3 million) in damages. The lawsuit was filed on Aug. 23 and the first court hearing was on Wednesday.
"It is no coincidence that Samsung's latest products look a lot like iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging," said Seoul-based Apple spokesman Steve Park. "This kind of blatant copying is wrong and we need to protect the Apple's intellectual property when companies steal our ideas."
Samsung fired back with their usual "we will defend our intellectual property rights" response:
"Samsung will actively defend our intellectual property rights in Japan in order to ensure consumers can continue to enjoy our innovative mobile devices without interruption," said Samsung spokeswoman Chenny Kim. "The company "will continue to pursue Apple for its ongoing violation of our wireless technology patents."
In August, Samsung used a photo from Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey as part of their defense in their ongoing battle with Apple. I wonder if they will do the same in Japan?[via The Wall Street Journal]