Apple Demands Galaxy Phone/tablet Ban As Samsung Seeks iPhone Chip Contracts

Apple and Samsung are back at each other's throats today, with Apple filing ten injunctions against the Korean company's smartphone range in Europe, while Samsung is demanding access to Apple's contract with Qualcomm. Samsung has been accused of violating Apple design patents with ten handsets and five tablets, the Dusseldorf, Germany court confirmed to Bloomberg today, with the Cupertino company hoping to block all fifteen devices from sale in Europe.

Meanwhile, Samsung has filed a request with the US District Court in California to gain access to documentation detailing the nature of Apple's agreement with Qualcomm, the company that provides several of the chipsets and radios in a number of iOS devices. "We need all agreements pursuant to which Qualcomm supplies or supplied 'Qualcomm MDM6610' chipsets to any person of entity and all documents that evidence, reflect or refer to the use by Apple of Qualcomm chipsets in iPhones or iPads" Samsung's court documentation acquired by The Korea Times says.

The company is hoping to identify any contractual flaw that might invalidate Apple's argument that it is covered by Qualcomm's licensing of Samsung patented tech. Samsung claims that Apple should pay-up on the technology it uses, while Apple says it has coverage automatically as a Qualcomm customer. "One of Apple's primary defenses is that it is entitled to use the chipsets at issue" the Korean firm's legal team points out.

If Samsung succeeds, it plans to submit the contracts to ongoing cases in Germany, Japan, Italy, the Netherlands, the UK, Australia, France and Korea.

As for Apple's attempt to block Samsung sales in Europe, the suit apparently covers the Galaxy S Plus and the Galaxy S II, as well as the modified Galaxy Tab 10.1N Samsung produced explicitly to work around a previous injunction. Apple's initial attempt to claim the 10.1N was insufficiently changed was rejected.