After a brief hiatus in Germany and France, the Apple vs. Samsung patent war is back to the antipodean battleground of Australia. According to the Wall Street Journal, Samsung Electronics has filed a counter lawsuit against the Cupertino-based iPhone and iPad maker Down Under.  

The South Korean firm stated over the weekend that it filed a lawsuit, claiming that Cupertino’s iPhone and iPad 2 tablet violate a number of wireless-technology patents that it holds. This comes after Apple won and agreement with Samsung Electronics last month, which sees the Galaxy SII maker agreeing not to sell its newest version of the Galaxy tablet in Australia, until a patent lawsuit is resolved between the two companies.

Samsung’s latest lawsuit follows its decision to appeal a central ruling in Germany, with the court in Dusseldorf finding that Samsung’s latest Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet had copied Apple’s iPad. This resulted in the Korean manufacturer being barred from selling its tablet in Germany.

The company was also forced to remove the newly announced Galaxy Tab 7.7 from its IFA stand, after Apple won an injunction in Germany, banning Samsung from selling and marketing this product.

Besides countering Apple’s successful German lawsuit, Samsung is also planning its next move against Apple via its forthcoming iPhone 5. The company is reportedly planning to file more patent lawsuits, as soon as the iPod maker makes launches its newest smartphone.

“Just after the arrival of the iPhone 5 here [in Korea], Samsung plans to take Apple to court here for its violation of Samsung’s wireless technology related patents,’’ a senior executive from Samsung Electronics stated to The Korea Times, asking not to be identified.

“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.”’

 

In other patent related news Google recently purchased another 1023 patents from IBM, in order to beef up its patent portfolio and be better equipped to deal with patent lawsuits aimed at its Android mobile operating system.