A new year, a new Apple law suit or two...

Apple succeeded in having the Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned

Unwilling to give up on its campaign to have Samsung's devices banned from Germany, and the EU zone, Apple has filed new suits in the Dusseldorf Regional Court, the very same jurisdiction that recently rejected the iDevice maker's injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1N.

Evidently working on the principle that if at first you don't succeed, try, try again, Apple has targeted ten Samsung smartphones in its latest filing, including the Galaxy SII and Galaxy S Plus, thus widening its 'marketing by litigation' programme significantly. It's worth pointing out that by the time the suit plays out, the Samsung models will likely have been superceded and there is little chance that Apple can have a successful ban applied. However, that suggests that this time around, Apple's goal will be to get penalties awarded, something that could be costly to Samsung if the suit were successful.

More surprising, perhaps, is the news that Apple has also instigated a separate action against five models of Samsung's media tablet range, almost certainly including the Galaxy Tab 10.1N, even though that device had been cleared by the court as not infringing Apple's patents just a month ago. The new action is apparently allowed because there is a lack of urgency requested, again implying that Apple is after money in this go-around.

Both suits have been filed as claims that the Samsung devices infringe Apple's European 'design rights', something the Dusseldorf Appeals Court has already ruled has doubtful legitimacy and Apple is not a certainty to achieve its aims. That, however, will not prevent the Cupertino consumer electronics giant from pushing forward and the cost of litigation is peanuts compared to their regular marketing budget with the rewards for success being potentially huge. A 'lotto ticket' approach to winning the jackpot of cashing in on its competitor's success.

It has been noted before that Apple has apporoximately US$100 billion in cash reserves, most of it off shore, so their pockets are deep. Perhaps unfortunately for them, unlike many others of Apple's legal targets, Samsung also possesses deep pockets - so the battle of the titans will grind on regardless of the results of the latest litigation.

Source: Bloomberg