Samsung countersues Apple over patents

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By Lee Youkyung
SEOUL, April 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korean tech behemoth Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday it has countersued Apple Inc. over the U.S. company's allegations of patent infringements, escalating their patent war.
Samsung, the world's No. 2 mobile phone maker, said in a statement that it lodged lawsuits with courts in South Korea, Japan and Germany on Thursday, accusing Apple of violating its 10 patents in producing the iPhone and the iPad.
Samsung's legal action came a week after Apple filed a lawsuit with the U.S. district court of Northern California, seeking cash compensation and an order to block the use of its patents in the Galaxy S, the Nexus S and the Galaxy Tab tablet computer.
"Samsung is responding actively to the legal action taken against us in order to protect our intellectual property and to ensure our continued innovation and growth in the mobile communications business," the statement said.
Samsung plans to file a lawsuit with the U.S. court against Apple, company spokesman Kevin Jeong said by phone. But filing a complaint will "take more time" due to some regulatory procedures.
Samsung is confident about disproving Apple's claim in U.S. court. "We found enough evidence that could dismantle Apple's argument," Jeong said.
While the U.S. company's claims mostly focused on similarities in the design and appearance of the two products, such as a flat, rectangular shape with rounded corners, packaging and user gestures between iPhone and the Galaxy S, Samsung is pinpointing communications technologies.
Samsung claimed the Cupertino, California-based company infringed upon 10 patents related to wireless data communications, data transmissions and power controls that are used in the iPhone and the iPad.
The deepening legal row, one of the latest in the lucrative and fiercely competitive smartphone market, suggests that Apple is increasingly feeling the pinch from Samsung's quick ascent, market watchers said.
It also highlights a shift in Samsung's game plan in dealing with Apple's inflammatory remarks.
Samsung Electronics, which counts Apple as one of its two largest clients in semiconductors and display panels, has remained cautious to the point of neuroticism about making a public comment on the U.S. client.
When a shareholder pressed chief executive officer Choi Gee-sung in March to stand up against Steve Jobs' famous "copycat" remarks and public derision of a high-level Samsung official, Choi declined to comment and begged others to understand his silence.
Lee Kun-hee, Samsung Electronics' chairman and South Korea's wealthiest man, was the company's first ranking official to respond to Apple's lawsuit, asking the company's employees to be aware of Samsung's changing position.
"Not only Apple, but also unrelated companies that do not produce electronics products are increasingly trying to keep Samsung in check," he told reporters on Thursday.
Market watchers said that the two companies are likely to seek an out-of-court settlement, downplaying the chance that the courtroom fight would spell trouble for their business partnership.
Although Samsung has been the fastest Android smartphone and tablet maker to catch up to Apple in these booming markets, its semiconductor division counts Apple as a key client and Apple relies on Samsung to supply the memory chips that go into the iPhone and the iPad.
"(The lawsuits) will likely be resolved at an appropriate point," said James Song, an analyst at Daewoo Securities. "Design patents are difficult to prove and technology patent disputes are usually resolved through a cross-licensing agreement."
"Because Samsung is not simply a mobile phone maker but a dominant player in mobile components, the lawsuits won't be dragged out till the end."
Apple's chief operating officer Tim Cook acknowledged that the business relationship between the two tech titans remains intact.
"We are Samsung's largest customer. Samsung is a very valued component supplier to us," he said this week during the company's quarterly earnings conference call.
Shares of Samsung Electronics closed at 904,000 won on the Seoul bourse, down 2.59 percent from the previous session.
ylee@yna.co.kr