The Apple vs. Samsung patent battle continued today, with Apple filing two more lawsuits against Samsung in Germany that go after 10 of the company's smartphones and five tablets.
According to Bloomberg, Apple claims that Samsung infringed upon its design patents with the Galaxy S Plus and Galaxy S II, among other gadgets.
But as patent blogger Florian Mueller noted, Apple has not asked that the court pulls these products from store shelves. "At least some of the accused products have been on the market for too long to satisfy the sense-of-urgency requirement anyway," Mueller wrote.
The move comes about a month after Samsung also sued Apple (again) in the German court, citing four patents, one of which included a method for entering emoticons.
"By the latest count, Samsung is asserting seven technical patents against Apple in Mannheim, where Apple is suing Samsung over six technical patents, in addition to the Düsseldorf actions involving design-related rights," Mueller wrote today.
Mueller speculated that it will be easier to settle claims related to the technical patents than the design ones. With technical patents, the two sides could hammer out a licensing agreement, however complex, but "for those design rights issues, it may not be possible to structure a mutually acceptable settlement," he wrote.
The two sides don't appear to be giving in anytime soon, however. Last year, Apple was successful in getting the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 temporarily banned in Germany, prompting Samsung to introduce a modified Galaxy Tab 10.1N. Apple is, of course, challenging the modified tablet, which the Dusseldorf court will address in a few weeks. But last month, a German judge said Apple is unlikely to win a ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1N.
"In light of the foregoing, I wouldn't characterize Apple's new German design rights lawsuits as hostilities. This is a commercial disagreement, and it needs to be resolved," Mueller concluded. "I like the fact that Apple's new litigation strategy in Germany will lead to useful and necessary clarification, rather than temporary (but strategically useless) disruption."
In a statement, Samsung said it is aware of the lawsuit. "We are confident that we can demonstrate our Galaxy devices are innovative and do not infringe on Apple's patents," a spokesman said. "We will take all available measures to assert our patent rights in Germany."
Editor's Note: This story was updated on Wednesday with comment from Samsung.