Apple seeks to add infringement claims

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple Inc sought to add infringement claims over six more Samsung Electronics Co products including the Galaxy Note II to its multibillion-dollar patent lawsuit against the South Korea-based company.

Apple has said that Samsung products running on the new Android “Jelly Bean” operating system, and other products running on the “Ice Cream Sandwich” system should be added to the case, according to filings with San Jose federal court in California. Jelly Bean is Google Inc’s latest version of the Android operating system that runs on Samsung mobile devices.

Apple Nov 23 asked the court to add to its case the Galaxy S III, running the new Jelly Bean system, the Galaxy Tab 8.9 Wifi tablet computer, the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and the Rugby Pro and Galaxy S III mini, according to court papers.

“Apple has acted quickly and diligently to determine that these newly released products do infringe many of the same claims already asserted by Apple, and in the same way that the already-accused devices infringe,” the Cupertino, Californiabased computer-maker said in its filing.

The claims were filed as part of a second patent suit between the mobile-device giants in San Jose federal court in which Samsung is targeting Apple’s iPhones, iPad and iPod Touch devices, while Apple has named more than 20 Samsung devices.

In an earlier lawsuit that went to trial in July, a jury found that Suwonbased Samsung infringed six of seven Apple patents at issue and awarded US$1.05bil in damages.

In the first case, US District Judge Lucy H. Koh scheduled a Dec 6 hearing for Apple’s bid for a permanent US sales ban on eight Samsung smartphone models and the Tab 10.1 tablet computer.

She will also consider Samsung’s bid to get the verdict thrown out based on claims of juror misconduct.

Nam Ki Yung, Samsung’s Seoulbased spokesman, declined to comment on the filing. – Bloomberg