Apple Adds Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note to Second Patent Lawsuit

Following a large victory over rival Samsung in regards to six patent violations found across 26 different Samsung smartphones and tablets, Apple has gone back to the legal drawing board and amended a separate complaint against 17 Samsung devices to include some of Samsung's latest smartphones.

The original complaint, filed in February, alleged that Samsung violated four utility patents across 17 different devices. Apple's since upped the number of patents to eight and the number of devices to 21, tossing Samsung's Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note handsets into the mix (two versions each).

According to Apple, Samsung has, "continued to flood the market with copycat products, including at least 17 new infringing products released prior to filing the original complaint in the instant action."

The original complaint, we note, refers to the Apple/Samsung patent case that was most recently decided in Apple's favor. That case, which Apple refers to as the "Earlier Case" in its filing, began with a complaint filed in April of 2011.

"Since then, Samsung has continued to release new infringing products, including its current flagship device, the Galaxy S III. While Samsung's new products infringe many of the same design patents, utility patents, trademarks, and trade dress rights that are at issue in the Earlier Case, Samsung's new products also infringe additional utility patents, some of which issued after Apple filed the Earlier Case," reads Apple's complaint.

Separately, Apple's also attempting to ban sales of eight different Samsung smartphones – including the Galaxy S2, Galaxy S 4G, and Galaxy Prevail – as a result of its recent victory in Apple v. Samsung. A hearing for Apple's request has been scheduled for December 6.

Apple previously attempted to ban sales of Samsung's Galaxy S III back in June, but U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh couldn't fit Apple's complaint into a previously scheduled June hearing.

"I cannot be an Apple v. Samsung judge," Koh said, in describing the court's docket and the difficulty of processing the continued complaints between the two companies at the time. Koh gave Apple the option of delaying its first jury trial – the most recently decided one – to add additional devices and patents to the mix, or to proceed forward and try those elements separately.

The second trial, focusing on the eight patents and 21 devices, is expected to head to court in 2013 – with the same Judge Koh presiding.

 

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