Samsung adds the iPhone 5 to its patent suit against Apple

Yes, the new iPhone may have only hit the market just over two weeks ago, but that’s long enough for Samsung to analyse the phone and file a patent suit against its creators.

According to Reuters, the South Korean company filed a request with a US court because it believes the iPhone 5 also violates its patents. In a statement, Samsung said “we have little choice but to take the steps necessary to protect our innovations and intellectual property rights.”

Samsung has said previously that it intended to analyse the new iPhone and then decide if it should take action. According to reports, it took the company a week to decide that the new iPhone should be added to the list of iDevices to be discussed in court — although it advised Apple that it was taking leave to amend its filing for the new phone as early as 18 September (three days before the iPhone 5 was publicly released). The new request was filed in parallel with the current round of patent disputes, which allege that products like the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch violate eight of Samsung’s patents.

According to the filing, “The iPhone 5 has the same accused functionality as the previously accused versions of the iPhone, so the proof of infringement of the patents-in-suit by the iPhone 5 is the same as for other Apple devices already accused of infringement in this litigation.” It also states that the patents under investigation include “two UMTS standards patents and six feature patents”, which are reportedly not related to LTE — the technology which was rumoured to be the centre of the patent dispute.

This latest filing was submitted just an hour before Judge Lucy Koh lifted the ban on sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the United States.

Samsung’s revised Patent Complaint against Apple to include iPhone 5