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Apple Takes On Android 4.0

San Jose, Calif. – Apple filed another
patent-infringement lawsuit against rival Samsung, this time seeking a
preliminary injunction to prevent the sale of the Android-based Galaxy Nexus smartphone
for alleged infringement of four patents.

The Nexus is the first phone available
with Google’s 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS, intended for both tablets and
smartphones. The Nexus, available for use on the Verizon Wireless network, is
the latest smartphone in which Google took the lead in creating a “Google
experience” on another company’s hardware platform. Google, however, was not
named in the suit, though the patents involve Google’s Android 4.0 OS.

The new suit is separate from a suit
filed against Samsung by Apple in April 2011. In the first suit, also
filed here is a U.S. district court, Apple contended that Samsung copied the
look and feel of the iPhone and iPad in launching Samsung Galaxy smartphones
and the Galaxy tablet. Late last year, the court denied Apple’s request for a
temporary injunction to prevent the sale of three Samsung Galaxy handsets and
the Galaxy Tab 101, but the full suit is scheduled for a summer hearing.

 In the latest suit, Apple alleges at least four
patent violations, including a Data Detector patent that the International
Trade Commission recently ruled was violated by HTC in several Android
handsets. That patent covers such things as tapping on a phone number in a text
message to call the number. The ITC banned the importation of products using
that patent, but the ban doesn’t take effect until April 19.

The other patents cited in the most
recent Apple legal action include a patent related to unified search, a
slide-to-unlock patent, and a word-completion patent that suggests word
replacements if someone misspells a word while typing.

For its part, Samsung said it would continue
to “assert our intellectual property rights and defend against Apple’s claims to ensure
our continued innovation and growth in the mobile communications
business.”

In its previous suit, Apple
complained that “Samsung has chosen to slavishly copy Apple’s innovative
technology, distinctive user interfaces, and elegant and distinctive product
and packaging design.”

 Last week, in its new complaint, Apple
contended that despite the earlier lawsuit, “Samsung has continued to flood the
market with copycat products, including at least 18 new infringing products
released over the last eight months.” The products include the Galaxy S II and
Illusion Android smartphones, the Galaxy Player 5.0 portable media player
(PMP), and the Galaxy Tab 8.9 tablet.

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