The Apple-shaped Death Star of patent disgruntlement moves further east today, with the news that the California tech-juggernaut is now locking targets on the Japanese market, seeking to withdraw Samsung gadgets from being sold there.
Already having halted, or damaged, sales of devices such as Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the new 7.7 (released only last week) as well as Galaxy S II smartphone in countries including Germany, the United Kingdom and Australia. Apple’s patent row surfaces mainly from a swipe technology used in these devices, which supposedly infringes on exclusive iPad designs.
After the lawsuit was filed, the first hearing was this past Wednesday and since then Samsung has countered Apple with a suit of its own, declaring that its gadgets are based solely on providing a host for Google’s Android platform.
It’s interesting that this should come to a head a short time after it was revealed that Samsung’s Galaxy S II outsold Apple’s iPhone in Japan in the first quarter of 2011.
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