Samsung is taking its legal fight with Apple seriously in the country of Australia. Apple filed a lawsuit against Samsung a few months ago, claiming that Samsung had violated patents on the design and user interface that Apple used for its iPad and iPhone products. That lawsuit caused Samsung"s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet to be banned from sale in Australia in August. Now Samsung has struck back and filed its own counter-suit against Apple.
Reuters reports that Samsung"s lawsuit claims that Apple"s iPhone and iPad products infringe on seven Australian patents that are owned by Samsung. The patents all deal with wireless communications standards. The lawsuit also claims that Apple"s patents that it used as the basis for its own lawsuit against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 were invalid. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is also banned from being sold in Germany thanks to a similar legal dispute between Apple and Samsung.
In related news, Engadget reports that the WiFi only version of the Galaxy Tab 8.9, the latest addition to Samsung"s Galaxy Tab family of tablets, are being shipped to a number of Best Buy stores here in the US. The tablet should go on sale in some Best Buy stores on September 22 while others will put the Galaxy Tab 8.9 on sale on September 25. The story reports that pricing for the tablet will be $399.99 but that has not yet been confirmed. Samsung also has plans to release a 7.7 inch version of the Galaxy Tab sometime in the near future.