UPDATED 12:33 EST / SEPTEMBER 19 2011

Samsung Sues Apple in Australia and Plans to Block iPhone 5

Apple and Samsung’s lawsuits against each other are piling up all over the globe.  The most recent was just last Friday, when Samsung filed a counter-suit alleging Apple of infringing their wireless technology patents.  The South Korean company is focusing on Apple’s iPhone and iPad devices, and it seems like they are filing counter-suits in countries where Apple has already sued them.

Samsung is also taking this opportunity to assert that Apple’s patent infringement claims against Samsung, made in August, are invalid, according to a Reuters report.

The delay in launching Samsung’s tablet in Australia is taking its toll, especially if you consider that two months in tech-time is like an eternity.  And every day the tablet is held back, it opens opportunities for other tablet makers, especially Apple.

Aside from this, an anonymous Samsung senior executive stated that Samsung already cooked up a plan on how to stop the upcoming iPhone 5 sale in Korea,

“Just after the arrival of the iPhone 5 here, Samsung plans to take Apple to court here for its violation of Samsung’s wireless technology related patents.  For as long as Apple does not drop mobile telecommunications functions, it would be impossible for it to sell its i-branded products without using our patents. We will stick to a strong stance against Apple during the lingering legal fights.”

Another Samsung executive added, “We are taking different tactics since we are quite confident.  If Samsung wins in Germany that will give us a big breakthrough and so will other envisioned efforts against such products as the iPhone 5.”

If Samsung feels like they could finally take down Apple with their brilliant master plan, they should probably brace themselves for another gut-wrenching fall.  Ex-Samsung Manager Suk-Joo Hwang admitted that he shared iPad trade secrets with Primary Global Research back in 2009.  Hwang admitted this while he was testifying at the insider trading trial of PGR Executive James Fleishman.

“One particular thing I remember vividly was that I talked about the shipment numbers of Apple, it was about iPad,” said Hwang. “This is in December 2009, before it came out with the tablet PC, they didn’t know the name then, so I talked to them about the tablet shipment estimates in that meeting.”

Hwang worked as a consultant for PGR from 2004-2010 and earned $38,000 for the work he did for them.  Apparently, during a particular lunch meeting between Hwang, Fleishman and one hedge fund manager called “Greg,” Hwang divulged pertinent information about Samsung’s shipment of LCD screens to Apple.  And during that fateful lunch date, one Apple employee overheard what Hwang said.  And right after his lunch with Fleishman and “Greg” Hwang’s colleague told him that Apple terminated a supply contract with Samsung.

Hwang was fired from Samsung last June and was lucky he wasn’t charged with anything.  Samsung spokeswoman in San Jose, California, Chris Goodhart and Steve Dowling, a spokesman for the Cupertino, California-based Apple both refused to comment on Hwang’s statement.

Fleishman along with Primary Global Chief, Unni Narayanan, and Operations Chief Phani Kumar Saripella are under investigation for allegedly being involved in insider-trading.  They are accused of facilitating meetings and telephone calls in a scheme to pass inside information to hedge funds and other Primary Global clients.

As for Apple, it seems like they’re done dealing with Samsung. Apple allegedly dropped Samsung in favor of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company for the next versions of its custom designed processors.


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