Samsung Sues Apple

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Apple has recently filed a lawsuit against Samsung for alleged patent infringement, in what seems to be a proxy attack against Google. Samsung has retaliated, filing copyright infringement cases against Apple in Germany, South Korea and Japan.

Apple’s lawsuit against Samsung involves user interface issues in its Android smartphones and tablets. Apple alleges that Samsung stole their UI and packaging designs, making their proprietary UI (run atop Android) almost similar to Apple’s iOS.

This time around, it’s Samsung’s turn to cry foul, filing copyright infringement suits in Germany, South Korea and Japan for Apple’s alleged infringement of 10 patents relating to power consumption and data error-correction. In a statement, Samsung says it is protecting its intellectual property to ensure continued innovation in the mobile industry.

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 funny thing about this legal battle is that Apple and Samsung are supposedly in a mutually-beneficial, but complicated, relationship. Apple is among Samsung’s biggest customers, and Samsung is Apple’s biggest supplier of processor chips and flash memory. Samsung benefits from strong sales of the iPhone, iPad and other Apple products.

Meanwhile, Samsung may have benefited from the popularity of Apple’s iPhone and iPad, as the popularity of the iPhone and iPad jacked up demand for tablets and smartphones, opening up opportunities for the likes of Samsung.

It’s a dispute that might take months or years to resolve. Perhaps it’s an issue that has been blown out of proportion (by the media and bloggers alike). Lawsuits like these probably happen with tech companies and are left with little publicity. The Apple and Samsung lawsuits are probably media fodder because of the stature of both companies, and because of their supply relationship. It’s like writing about a quarrel between spouses in a gossip column.

Still, it will be interesting to watch where this goes. Will Apple and Samsung simply call it quits? Will they pay each other royalties that are likely to cancel out to a zero-sum game eventually? Or is this just a publicity stunt aimed at increasing mindshare? Or maybe both parties see each other as too much of a threat. We’ll keep posted on developments.