APPLE filed a lawsuit in the US requesting a sales ban on Samsung Electronics' latest smartphone, but the Korean electronics giant said that the launch and sales of its new smartphone will proceed as planned.
The US company filed for preliminary injunctions on June 5 in the District Court for the Northern District of California to stop the sale of Samsung's flagship smartphone, Galaxy S III, accusing the Korean electronics giant of infringing on Apple's user interface patents.
The latest legal action comes after the chief executives of both companies met in the US in late May in a court-directed session aimed at settling their smartphone patent war, which was initiated by Apple in April last year. Apple and Samsung have been entangled in about 30 patent litigation around 10 different countries so far.
"Samsung believes Apple's request is without merit. We will vigorously oppose the request and demonstrate to the court that the Galaxy S III is innovative and distinctive," said Samsung in a statement.
Samsung said it plans to launch the new smartphone device - which is already available in Australia - in the US later this month and said that the latest tackle by the iPhone maker "would only serve to disrupt consumers' access to the latest innovative mobile technology."
A Seoul-based Apple spokesman Steve Park maintained the company's previous stance and said, "It is no coincidence that Samsung's latest products look a lot like the iPhone and the iPad devices, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging. This kind of blatant copying is wrong and we need to protect the Apple's intellectual property when companies steal our ideas."
The latest ban attempts follows in the wake of last year's prolonged legal battle in which Apple tried to prevent the sale of Samung's tablet, the Galaxy Tab in the Netherlands, the US and up to 10 other countries including Australia.
The latest ban attempts follows in the wake of last year's prolonged legal battle in which Apple tried to prevent the sale of Samung's tablet, the Galaxy Tab in the Netherlands, the US and up to 10 other countries including Australia.
Samsung launched its latest version of its flagship smartphone in 28 countries in Europe, starting with London earlier in May, and the Middle East last week.
The fierce competition between Samsung, the world's largest technology company by revenue and Apple, the world's most valuable company, comes amid estimates by analysts that Samsung surpassed Apple in the first quarter as the world's biggest seller of smartphones.