Samsung To Countersue Apple In iPhone, iPad Patent Claim

Samsung is planning a counterattack against Apple's patent infringement claims.

Samsung aims countersue Apple over infringed patents of its own. We think Apple has violated our patents in communications standards, said Samsung's Chung Jae-woon to Yonhap News. We are considering a counterclaim.

Apple alleges that Samsung violated sixteen of its patents and trademarks, ranging from icon design and product packaging to the general feel of the products themselves.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple has pending patent infringement suits with several smartphone makers, including HTC, Motorola, Nokia, and now Samsung. Apple is both a plaintiff and defendant. In that sense a Samsung counterclaim is not unusual.

A counterclaim could involve patents that Samsung owns (and which it will say Apple violated) or it could argue that the look and feel of the icons on the phone, for example, have become generic. Samsung did not return calls for comment.

Apple was less than gracious in its own suit. Instead of pursuing independent product development, Samsung has chosen to slavishly copy Apple's innovative technology, distinctive user interfaces, and elegant and distinctive product and packaging design, in violation of Apple's valuable intellectual property right, the company said in the suit filed Friday.

Apple is a significant buyer of Samsung products, mostly components in devices such as iPhones, computers and iPads. Samsung owes four percent of its $142 billion in 2010 revenue to Apple.

But Apple wants to cut that revenue down. In addition to a variety of damages, the company is asking the courts to order Samsung to end production of infringing products. Some of the implicated products include a number of Samsung's most popular smartphones, including the Nexus S and Epic 4G. Samsung's Galaxy Tab tablet also allegedly infringes on Apple's patents.