Samsung Wants Apple iPhone 4S Banned in Japan, Australia

Samsung on Monday expanded its battle against Apple's iPhone 4S by asking courts in Japan and Australia to ban the sale of the new smartphone in those countries.

Samsung also wants the iPhone 4 and iPad 2 banned in Japan, and has appealed a recent decision regarding the its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia.

Samsung filed preliminary injunction motions in the Tokyo District Court and Australia's New South Wales Registry, which ask that they both "immediately stop the sale of Apple's iPhone 4S in the respective countries," Samsung said in a blog post.

In Japan, Samsung says that Apple is infringing on one High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) standard-related patent and three user interface patents. The HSPA patent is related to power consumption during data transmission, while the user interface patents relate to information displayed on a screen—specifically, the airplane mode icon, home screen customization, and apps store browsing.

In Australia, the Samsung suit focuses on three patents related to wireless telecommunications standards—Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) and HSPA—which cover data transmissions.

"In light of these violations, Samsung believes the sale of such Apple devices should be banned," Samsung said. "Apple has continued to violate our patent rights and free ride on our technology. We will no longer stand idly by and will steadfastly protect our intellectual property."

Patent blogger Florian Mueller said this morning that Samsung's claims in Australia are "doomed to fail" because they relate to technologies that are essential to the 3G telecom standards. A Dutch court ruled against Samsung on the same grounds last week, and "I'd be extremely surprised if an Australian judge took a different perspective," Mueller wrote in a blog post.

The situation is "less clear" in Japan and "depend[s] on whether those patents will be upheld," he said.

Samsung has also asked courts in Italy and France to ban sales of the new iPhone 4S.

Last week, meanwhile, a Federal Court in Australia granted Apple's request for a temporary injunction against Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1, meaning the tablet will likely not be available to Australian consumers during the upcoming holiday season. It is also temporarily banned in Germany.

The patent dispute between Apple and Samsung began in April, when Apple sued Samsung for copying the look and feel of its iPhone and iPad in its flagship Galaxy S line of devices; a suit that was later expanded to include 13 more products, including the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Nexus S 4G, and the Droid Charge.

For more, see PCMag's full review of the iPhone 4S and the slideshow below.