Japan is the next stop in Apple’s far-reaching attempt to stop the spread of Samsung rival devices. The tech giant has filed suit in Tokyo asking the court to suspend sales of the Galaxy S and Galaxy S II smartphones, as well as the Galaxy Tab 7 tablet. The Galaxy S is outselling the iPhone in this tech-obsessed Asian nation.
An initial hearing on the patent-infringement lawsuit was held Wednesday in Tokyo District Court, according to Reuters. In the lawsuit, Apple asks for $1.3 million in damages and a suspension of sales of the Samsung devices in Japan.
Last week, a German court halted sales of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 7.7 tablet. Samsung has also delayed Australian sales of the tablet, pending the outcome of a September court ruling. In that case, an Australian judge has suggested Apple needs to supply sales figures bolstering its claim the Samsung device — which it calls “slavishly” similar to the iPad — will hurt demand for the Cupertino, Calif. company’s product.
Ed Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who first heard of Apple when they grew on trees, Yahoo was run out of a Stanford dorm and Google was an unknown upstart. Since then, Sutherland has covered the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.
