Samsung threatens counter-action over Apple lawsuit

9to5 Staff | Apr 19 2011 - 2:53 am PT

Apple is Samsung’s second-biggest client after Sony, having spent $5.7 billion on components last year. After learning that their key account would sue them for copying the design, user interface and technology of iOS gadgets, Samsung is threatening counter-actions. A company spokesperson provided this statement:

Samsung will respond actively to this legal action taken against us through appropriate legal measures to protect our intellectual property.

In other words, you can expect the South Korean giant to file a counter-lawsuit and here’s why.

Update: Nilay Patel at This is my next put together a fantastic analysis of the case.

Samsung is involved in so many facets of manufacturing that go far beyond electronics. The conglomerate is huge. Focusing on electronics, Samsung manufactures everything from displays, NAND flash memory, processors and DRAM, and on and on. This gives it a significant advantage in that their counter-lawsuit can spawn any or all of the above technologies.

On the flip side, since they manufacture A4 and A5 chips, they did have Apple’s blueprints for those in advance so they were in a position to possibly copy some of Apple’s chip designs.

“It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging,” an Apple representative told Mobilized.