Samsung seeks iPhone sales ban in France, Italy

Samsung Electronics Co. is seeking to prevent Apple Inc.’s new smartphone iPhone 4S from going on sale in France and Italy.

The Korean firm announced Wednesday that it plans to file an injunction in the two European countries to prevent the device from going on sale saying that the new iPhone breached its patent rights on two accounts.

In a separate action, Samsung Electronics has made a move to invalidate Apple’s iPad design rights in Europe in order to resume selling its own tablet computers in the European market.

According to Samsung Electronics, the company filed an application for the annulment of Apple’s exclusive rights over the iPad’s design to the EU’s Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market on Aug. 9.

Following a protracted lawsuit in German courts in which Apple accused Samsung of copying iPad’s design in producing Galaxy Tab tablet computers, Samsung Electronics was banned from marketing and sales of the device in Germany.

The two companies, the world’s top two mobile phone makers for the second quarter of the year, are engaged in similar disputes in a number of markets including France and the Netherlands.

In an unrelated development, Apple excluded Korea from the list of markets to see its new smartphone iPhone 4S first, despite market expectations.

While a number of speculative reports that Korea will be among the first markets to see the new iPhone, Apple announced on Tuesday that it would first release the phone in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the U.K. and the U.S. on Oct. 14.

The company also announced that the device will go on sale in 22 countries by the end of the month.

Apple did not mention the date for iPhone 4S’s release in Korea, giving rise to speculation that the device will come to the Korean market after its second launch in November.

With Apple once again excluding Korea from the list of early-launch markets for a new product, those in the local telecom industry speculate that the complicated administrative processes are to blame for the delay.

According to telecom industry sources, the process of approving a newly developed electronic device for sale takes up to two months, making it unlikely that the iPhone 4S would have been available here in October even if Korea were among the early-launch markets.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)