THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS (AP) - Samsung asked Dutch judges Monday to slap an injunction on Apple Inc. to prevent it from selling iPhones and iPad tablets in the Netherlands, saying Apple does not have licenses to use 3G mobile technology in the devices.
The legal battle is the latest round in a series of claims and counterclaims of patent breaches by the rival technology heavyweights playing out in courtrooms around the world.
Samsung Electronics Co. lawyer Bas Berghuis told a civil judge at The Hague District Court that Apple “never bothered to ask about licenses” before it started selling 3G-enabled iPhones.
Apple is expected to argue later that the chips its devices use for 3G come from suppliers who do have licenses with Samsung.
Earlier this month, a court in Duesseldorf, Germany, ruled that Samsung cannot sell its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany because its design too closely resembled the iPad2. The ruling only applied to direct sales from the Samsung, meaning distributors who acquire the Tab 10.1 from abroad could resell them in Germany. Samsung said it would appeal that judgment.
Other court battles are taking place in the U.S., South Korea and Australia.
A Samsung executive told The Associated Press last week in Seoul that the South Korean company would be taking a bolder stance in battling Apple in courts.
“We’ll be pursuing our rights for this in a more aggressive way from now on,” said Lee Younghee, head of global marketing for mobile communications.
Lee said that Samsung holds numerous patents covering wireless telecommunications technology.
“We believe Apple is free riding” on such Samsung patents, Lee said.
An Apple public relations official at the court in The Hague refused to comment on ongoing injunction proceedings.
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