Apple Broadens Claims in Samsung Patent Battle

Apple has filed an amendment in its patent infringement battle with Samsung, adding even more allegations against the phone maker. According to Apple’s updated court filing, Samsung is infringing on more patents than originally listed, and added more products to the list of smartphones that it claims step on iPhone-related technology.

Apple v SamsungApple targets more Samsung products in patent lawsiut

New products targeted by Apple’s legal team include Droid Charge, Exhibit 4G, Galaxy Ace, Galaxy Prevail, Galaxy S (i9000), Gravity, Infuse 4G, Nexus S 4G, Replenish, Sidekick, Galaxy Tab 10.1, and Galaxy S II. The original filing specifically mentions just the “Samsung Captivate, Continuum, Vibrant, Galaxy S 4G, Epic 4G, Indulge, Mesmerize, Showcase, Fascinate, Nexus S, Gem, Transform, Intercept, and Acclaim smart phones and the Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet.”

The amended filing, as detailed by Foss Patents, expanded from 38 pages up to 63 pages, and includes stronger wording. The amended filing, for example, replaces phrases like “slavishly copying” with “products that blatantly imitate the appearance of Apple’s products to capitalize on Apple’s success.”

The updated filing also stated that “[iPhone] copying has been widely observed in the industry and has been mentioned in multiple articles reviewing Samsung products.” 

The amended filing just so happens to fall on the same day Samsung must hand over Galaxy S2, Tab 8.9 and Tab 10.1 samples, along with Infuse 4G and 4G LTE samples to Apple’s legal team for review. The timing most likely isn’t coincidental since it works as a handy setup for a followup filing requesting a preliminary injunction blocking Samsung from releasing the products.

Assuming Apple can get the court to seriously consider a preliminary injunction, “it could put enormous pressure on Samsung and greatly increase the likelihood of a near-term settlement in Apple’s favor,” according to Foss Patent’s Florian Mueller.

Apple and Samsung have not commented on the amended filing.