Korean electronics giant Samsung fired back at Apple's patent lawsuit, filing its own claim in South Korea, Germany and Japan.

Samsung said it cited five patent infringements in Korea, two in Japan, and three in Germany.

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 company said in a statement.

Apple filed a patent and trademark infringement case in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on April 15. Apple claims the similarity of the Galaxy S smartphone and Galaxy Tab tablet to the iPhone and iPad, as well as the general appearance of the icons, infringe on Apple's trademarks.

Reuters reports that the patents Samsung claims Apple is infringing are related to reducing power use during data transmission, reducing data transmission errors on 3G networks, and wireless data communication.

Apple claims Samsung lifted significant portions of the iPhone's user interface and the iPhone's trade dress, a term used to describe the shape of the device itself. Like the iPod and iPad, Apple says, the Galaxy Tab features a rectangular design with rounded corners and a black border. Rows of icons also play a significant role in the device's design.

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