Samsung files patent complaint against Apple in France

PARIS (AFP) ― South Korea’s Samsung Electronics said Monday it had filed a complaint in France against its U.S. rival Apple for infringement of three mobile phone technology patents in its iPhone and iPad tablet computers.

“The complaint focuses on three technology patents, and not on the design of the tablets,” as was the case in a complaint filed in Germany that Apple won last week, a Samsung spokeswoman said.

The complaint was filed before a Paris district court in July and the first hearing is expected in December.

A source familiar with the complaint said it concerns three Samsung patents concerning UMTS, which is one type of so-called third generation mobile phone technology.

The complaint targets Apple’s iPhone 3G and 3GS and iPhone4 smartphone models, and first and second-generation iPads that are mobile phone capable, added the source.

Last week a court in Duesseldorf banned Samsung from selling its latest Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer in Germany, ruling it had copied Apple’s iconic iPad.

Samsung has said it plans to appeal the decision.

In the Netherlands, a court in The Hague banned three Samsung telephone models on Aug. 24 following an Apple suit. Samsung launched a counter-claim, due to be heard by the same court on Sept. 26.

The two firms are also locked in legal battles in Australia, the United States and Asia. Samsung has responded to Apple’s accusations by filing suits of its own in Seoul, asking for a ban on sales of the U.S. firm’s products in South Korea.

The tussle began in April when Apple filed a suit accusing Samsung of copying its smartphones and tablet computers. Samsung responded with a claim in Seoul alleging five patent infringements by Apple.

Samsung has said its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer has been selling well in France since it hit the market in mid-August.