Samsung Countersues Apple in Australia

A month after Apple sued Samsung Australia for copying the look and feel of the Apple iPad in the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, Samsung has countersued with its own claims of patent infringement. "To defend our intellectual property, Samsung filed a cross claim for Apple's violation of Samsung's wireless technology patents," Samsung Electronics spokesman Nam Ki-yung told the Wall Street Journal. Samsung is temporarily banned from selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia due to the patent lawsuit Apple filed in early August. In late August, Samsung said it volunteered not to sell the Galaxy Tab 10.1 any earlier than September 30, even though it was scheduled to launch on September 12. A hearing has been scheduled on September 26 and 29 to determine whether or not Samsung should be allowed to sell the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia, according to the FOSS patent blog. Unfortunately, it is unclear which patents are at the heart of Samsung Australia's lawsuit. Two weeks ago, HTC countersued Apple in the U.S., using patents transferred from Google; four of the patents originated from Google's August acquisition of Motorola. Currently, Apple and Samsung are fighting patent battles in at least 12 courts, nine countries, and four continents. For the full list of countries and patent disputes where Apple and Samsung are at each other's throats, see Every Place Samsung and Apple Are Suing Each Other. Most believe that in the end of all these patent lawsuits, the guilty party will simply end up paying a licensing fee to use the patents. However it is entirely possible that the triumphant party chooses not to license its technology. Source, Street Journal