Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) asked a federal court to add six more Samsung Electronics devices to the list of gadgets that Apple claims infringe on its patents, the latest escalation in the companies' ongoing patent battle. Meanwhile, a U.S. judge said last week that Apple needs to disclose to Samsung the details of its separate patent settlement with HTC.
According to court documents filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Apple wants to throw Samsung's flagship Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II, as well as the Galaxy Tab 8.9 Wi-Fi, Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, Rugby Pro and Galaxy III Mini, into the mix. "Apple has acted quickly and diligently to determine that these newly-released products do infringe many of the same claims already asserted by Apple," the company said in the filing.
Samsung representatives could not be reached for comment, according to reports. The filing by Apple comes after Samsung last week asked to add the iPad mini, fourth-generation iPad and fifth-generation iPod touch to the list of products that it claims infringe on its own patents.
Samsung has said it doesn't plan to settle with Apple, unlike HTC. In August Samsung was found guilty of infringing on Apple's patents and liable for $1.05 billion in damages by a jury in a separate U.S. federal court case.
However, Samsung did score a recent court victory. U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal approved Samsung's bid to get access to the settlement Apple made with HTC, and ordered Apple to produce documents for "attorney-eyes-only."
"Many third parties to this case have had their licensing agreements disclosed subject to an attorneys-eyes-only designation because the confidential financial terms were clearly relevant to the dispute between Apple and Samsung," court documents said, according to the Wall Street Journal. HTC and Apple announced the settlement Nov. 10, and the deal includes a 10-year licensing agreement, which HTC Peter Chou has said the company is "happy" with.
The battle between Samsung and Apple is being closely watched since the two companies command the vast majority of the world's smartphone sales.
For more:
- see this WSJ article (sub. req.)
- see this Reuters article
- see this AllThingsD article
- see this separate WSJ article (sub. req.)
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