The legal battle between Apple and Samsung is escalating to a state of total war, with Samsung filing a counterclaim in Australia and reportedly seeking to bar Apple from selling its unreleased iPhone 5 in certain markets.
Samsung will file for a complete ban on iPhone 5 sales in South Korea as soon as the device launches in the country, a Samsung executive told the Korea Times.
The company will argue that the device infringes on Samsung's wireless patents, with the source claiming that as long as i-branded products have mobile telecom functions it would be “impossible” not to be in violation.
Other reports indicate that Samsung may consider filing legal challenges to ban sales of the iPhone 5 in more markets, including Europe.
Already Apple and Samsung have together filed at least 23 lawsuits against each other in various jurisdictions.
In Australia, where Apple had forced Samsung to delay the launch of its Galaxy Tab 10.1, Samsung has meanwhile filed a claim asserting patent infringement by Apple's iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPad 2.
Samsung is also arguing that the patents Apple had relied on in its court claims against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 are invalid and should be revoked, Reutersreports.
Apple last month also dealt a blow to Samsung in Germany, when a court barred Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales in the market. The ban had initially been almost EU-wide, but a court later restricted it to Germany alone citing uncertainty over jurisdiction.
Samsung is a significant component supplier to Apple, and the iPhone 5 will likely use Samsung's NAND flash memory.