Samsung revealed over the weekend that it has filed a countersuit in Australia against Apple over claims that the iPhone and iPad infringe on patents the electronics company owns. The two companies have already been duking it out in court in the country, and Samsung has even agreed to postpone launching its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in Australia until the end of September.
“To defend our intellectual property, Samsung filed a cross claim for Apple’s violation of Samsung’s wireless technology patents,” commented Samsung Electronics spokesman Nam Ki-yung, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Apple and Samsung have been locked in a legal battle over patent infringement claims for several months. Both companies have alleged that the other’s mobile devices use patented technologies without proper licensing, and have filed lawsuits against each other in the U.S. and other countries.
A German court recently upheld an injunction blocking the sale of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the country, and the company filed an appeal in hopes of overturning that ruling.
Apple was also awarded a temporary injunction through a Dutch court blocking the sale of some Galaxy devices in the European Union, and Samsung has agreed to postpone sales of its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in Australia until the end of September.
The two companies have filed lawsuits against each other several countries such as the United States, Germany, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
The legal battle may have damaged Apple’s business relationship with Samsung, too. Samsung has been providing components for some of Apple’s products, but may have lost its deal to build the company’s custom processors for the iPhone and iPad to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.
Apple has not commented on Samsung’s filing.