In what seemed to be a tit for tat move against Apple, Samsung on Thursday announced its plans to add the former's newly released iPhone 5 to the existing patent lawsuit in US court.
Samsung's move to haul iPhone 5 into the patent mess came days after Apple announced that the advanced booking for its sixth-generation iPhone topped two million in just 24 hours after it opened the pre-order window.
In a document filed in U.S. federal court in San Jose, California, the South Korean tech giant said that it anticipated a filing against iPhone 5 of violating patent law. The high-stake patent dispute between the two tech majors is being tried at a US court and its hearing is due in 2014.
"Samsung anticipates that it will file, in the near future, a motion to amend its infringement contentions to add the iPhone 5 as an accused product," Samsung said in a U.S. court filing, as reported by Reuters.
Samung's plans to add the iPhone 5 to its bucket of Apple products, which had allegedly infringed on the former's patents, is seen as a mere retaliatory attack. Earlier, just days ahead of iPhone 5 launch, Apple moved a federal court in a separate case against Galaxy S3 claiming that it had infringed on its patents. The Cupertino firm was bent on taking down its rival phone maker in a bid to lead the smartphone industry.
Last month, Apple registered a resounding victory against Samsung in a high-stake patent case. The US bench in San Jose found the Galaxy maker guilty of infringing Apple's patent and directed the former to pay over $1 billion in damages.
Although Samsung's flagship Galaxy S3 phone was not included in the earlier trial the jury validated Apple's patents on features and design elements that the US company could then try to wield against that device. Apple may not have to seek a new trial over Galaxy S3 but can include it in a "contempt proceeding" that moves much faster, according to legal experts.
In a bid to to maximize its victory, Apple moved the court accusing Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note of violating its intellectual property.
