Here we go again: Samsung sues Apple in Seoul over patents

When news broke on Tuesday that Apple was ready to sit down with Motorola and Samsung to work out licensing on some of its patents, it seemed that perhaps peace would break out in the industry. Apple said it was willing to settle past lawsuits by licensing its technology for a price of between $5 and $15 for each handset using Apple's technology that was sold. But we wake up on Wednesday to find that Samsung has filed suit in a court in Seoul, Korea against Apple. The Korean based manufacturer alleges that Apple infringed on three of Samsung's patents and the lawsuit also covers utility patents that are used in specific smartphone and tablet functions.

This suit is an expansion of accusations made by Samsung last year against Apple when the former accused the Cupertino based firm of infringing on five Samsung patents relating to how data is transmitted by mobile devices. That suit was filed by Samsung in response to one filed by Apple in the U.S. accusing the Korean based firm of copying "the look and feel" of Apple devices.

The latest suit was filed Tuesday in Seoul Central District Court and was announced Wednesday by Samsung. The timing of the lawsuit and the announcement is certainly curious considering that later today, Apple is expected to introduce its third-generation tablet, the Apple iPad HD. Surely Samsung is trying to steal a bit of Apple's thunder prior to the iPad HD announcement. Both the Apple iPhone 4S and the Apple iPad are mentioned in the filing for the suit.

source: WallStreetJournal