During 2011 the battle for market share found yet another venue, the courtrooms, as legal battles over alleged patent violations erupted between numerous companies, most notably amongst Apple and one of its largest chip suppliers Samsung (check out our Top 5 Tech News of 2011 list).

Unfortunately, the legal tit-for-tat between the two tech giants looks set to continue throughout 2012, as Apple has filed a design rights lawsuit against Samsung in Germany.

According to Bloomberg, the Cupertino-based iPhone and iPad maker is aiming to obtain a sales ban of ten of Samsung’s smartphones, the likes of the Galaxy S Plus as well as the Galaxy S II (no.1 on our Top 5 High-End Smartphones of 2011 list).

The lawsuit was filed in the Dusseldorf Regional Court and a court spokesperson informed Bloomberg that the action is based on Apple’s design rights.

Court spokesman Peter Schuetz also said that Cupertino filed a separate lawsuit against Samsung concerning five of its tablets that is related to a ruling in Germay during September that banned the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1. A court in Dusseldorf found that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet had copied Apple’s iPad, resulting in the German sales ban. Samsung was also forced to remove the Galaxy Tab 7.7 from its IFA stand, after Apple won an injunction in Germany, banning Samsung from selling and marketing that product.

 

In related news, a US court last month denied Apple’s request to block Samsung from selling its popular range of Galaxy smartphones and tablets in the crucial American market.