SEOUL — Samsung Electronics said Wednesday that it would seek to block the sale of the iPhone 4S in France and Italy, claiming that Apple’s newly unveiled smartphone violated its patents.
In seeking a court injunction against its rival in two major European markets, Samsung, of South Korea, was getting more aggressive in its ever-expanding patent battle with Apple. Samsung said each of its injunction requests would cite two patent infringements related to wireless telecommunications technology, specifically the so-called Wideband Code Division Multiple Access standards for mobile handsets.
Samsung planned to file for preliminary injunctions in other countries after further review, the company said without elaborating.
“The infringed technology is essential to the reliable functioning of telecom networks and devices,” Samsung said in a statement. “Apple has continued to flagrantly violate our intellectual property rights and free ride on our technology, and we will steadfastly protect our intellectual property.”
Comment from Apple, which is based in California, was not immediately available.
The two electronics giants are locked in about 20 legal disputes over patents in nine countries, including Australia, Britain, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and the United States.
The fight began when Apple sued Samsung in April in the United States, alleging that the Samsung Galaxy lineup of smartphones and tablet devices “slavishly” copied the iPhone and iPad in design, user interface and packaging. Samsung has responded with its own lawsuits accusing Apple of violating its intellectual property.
In recent weeks, Samsung officials have said they will become bolder in their fight with Apple, though the U.S. company is one of the top customers for Samsung components.
Samsung’s action came after Apple’s legal actions hurt the South Korean company’s sales. Last month, a German court ruled that Samsung could not sell its new Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet directly in Germany, Europe’s largest market, saying the design too closely resembled that of the Apple iPad 2.
On Tuesday, Apple turned down an offer from Samsung to settle their patent dispute in Australia, which has kept the Galaxy Tab 10.1 off store shelves in that country.
Separately, a court in the Netherlands barred Samsung from selling three smartphones that rival the iPhone. Samsung is appealing the decisions.
Apple and Samsung are not only competitors in the fast-growing global market for smartphones and tablet computers; they also have a close buyer-supplier relationship. Samsung, the world’s biggest maker of memory chips and flat-panel screens, supplies some of the important components in Apple products.
“We have kept our business relationship in mind, but we have had enough,” a Samsung official said, while explaining the company’s motive, on condition of anonymity. “We think it’s time to act more aggressively.”
Lee Soon-hak, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities in Seoul, said that by initiating legal action in France and Italy, Samsung had done its homework on where it had the best chance of winning a case against Apple with a significant market effect on its rival.
But he said that the two giants might be seeking a deal to settle their dispute. “I don’t think Apple wants to prolong this battle forever,” he said. “At the same time, Samsung will also want a compromise.”
In June, the Finnish cellphone maker Nokia settled a two-year global patent fight with Apple over smartphone technology through a licensing agreement that will commit Apple to make a one-time payment to Nokia and pay regular royalties in the future.
Samsung’s action came on the same day that Asian smartphone makers were encouraged by the new iPhone 4S, which failed to whip up as much market enthusiasm as its predecessors. Shares of Samsung Electronics, HTC and LG Electronics, all of which make phones using the Google Android operating system, jumped Wednesday.
Samsung was ranked No. 2 globally in smartphones, behind Apple, in the second quarter of this year. In overall mobile phone sales, Samsung ranks second behind Nokia.
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