Samsung said today that it plans to file separate preliminary injunction motions in Paris and Milan that will request that the court block the sale of the newly announced iPhone 4S in France and Italy.
"Apple has continued to flagrantly violate our intellectual property rights and free ride on our technology. We believe it is now necessary to take legal action to protect our innovation," Samsung said in a blog post.
Specifically, Samsung's complaint will focus on two patent infringements related to wireless telecommunications technology, or Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) standards for 3G mobile handsets.
"The infringed technology is essential to the reliable functioning of telecom networks and devices and Samsung believes that Apple's violation as being too severe and that the iPhone 4S should be barred from sales," Samsung said.
Patent blogger Florian Mueller said the use of the word "essential" is important. "If those patents are indeed essential to the standard, then Samsung as a participant in the relevant standard-setting process has an obligation to grant licenses to everyone, including Apple, on FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) terms. Apple already accuses Samsung in other jurisdictions, including but not limited to the U.S., of failing to honor those obligations," he wrote in a blog post.
Ultimately, "an injunction can only be justified if and when Apple refuses to pay a FRAND royalty that it owes in the binding opinion of a court of competent jurisdiction," Mueller wrote.
Samsung's filings escalate an already expansive patent fight between Samsung and Apple. The iPhone 4S request is not a major surprise, as Samsung threatened to do so before Apple even unveiled its next-generation smartphone.
The patent dispute between Apple and Samsung began in April, when Apple sued Samsung for copying the look and feel of its iPhone and iPad in its flagship Galaxy S line of devices; a suit that was later expanded to include 13 more products, including the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Nexus S 4G, and the Droid Charge.
The battle has since expanded to about two dozen countries. Apple has already succeeded in getting the Galaxy Tab 10.1 temporarily banned in Germany. Samsung might also ditch plans to release the tablet in Australia after the two sides failed to reach a compromise that would allow Samsung to release the Galaxy Tab in time for the holiday sales rush.
Recently, Samsung sued Apple in France and the Netherlands. For more, see Every Place Samsung and Apple Are Suing Each Other (as of Sept. 14).
Apple, meanwhile, unveiled the iPhone 4S yesterday, a phone that boasts its new A5 processor and a souped-up camera, as well as iOS 5. It will be available for pre-order on October 7 and will hit U.S. stores on October 14. It is set to hit Italy in late October, but Apple has not announced when it might be available in France.
For more, see PCMag's hands on with the iPhone 4S and the slideshow below. Also check out Battle of the iPhones: iPhone 4S vs. 4 vs. 3GS and Can Apple Survive Without a 4G iPhone?