Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics are engaged in cutthroat competition and are embroiled in an all-out-war in courtrooms across a dozen countries. Apple has sought a ban of the Samsung Galaxy S 2 and Galaxy Tab devices on grounds that they are imitating Apple devices. Samsung has countered with lawsuits seeking the ban of the iPhone 4S on claims that the latest iPhone is infringing on Samsung's wireless patents.

Samsung, which has recently unveiled the Galaxy Nexus (see ad "copied" from Apple's playbook here), is the world's largest smartphone vendor while Apple's iPhone is the world's best selling smartphone. Samsung is a distant second to Apple in the tablet market.

Apple has won early victories against Samsung, which is ironically the supplier of key components for the iPad and iPhone. But Samsung has won the latest round in their bitter fight.

Australia. An Australian federal court this week lifted an Oct. 13 ruling that granted preliminary injunction on sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the country. A lower court had issued a temporary sales ban following accusations by Apple that the Samsung tablet was copying the design and interface of the iPad, the world's best selling tablet. Although the case remains pending and Apple can seek recourse at the high court, the ruling is a boost for Samsung's bid to put its flagship tablet in shelves for the lucrative holiday season. Samsung has earlier convinced the court in Australia to give it access to parts of Apple's contracts with cell service providers in the country. Samsung, which would be allowed to sell the tablet beginning Dec. 3, says the recent ruling affirms that Apple's legal claims lack merit. Samsung has launched its own lawsuit claiming that Apple's iPhone 4S is infringing on Samsung's wireless patents. The court though has not issued a sales ban of Apple's latest iPhone and is scheduled to hear the case beginning in March.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is the thinnest among 10-inch tablets. It has a 1 GHz dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, 1 GB of RAM, 10.1-inch display with 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, and weighs just 565 grams

United States. What started the war was when Apple, which was awarded 566 U.S. patents in 2010, compared to Samsung's 3,132 utility patents, sued Samsung in California in April this year for "slavishly" copying the design and functionality of the iPhone and iPad. Samsung a week later sued counter-sued Apple in Seoul, Tokyo, and Mannheim (Germany), alleging Apple infringed patents related to its mobile communication technologies. Apple has asked the federal judge in San Jose, California to issue an injunction while the case is being heard. Judge Lucy Koh has not ruled on Apple's injunction request. "Apple's strategy amounts to little more than an attempt to smother its most prominent rival and the largest manufacturer of Android smartphones and to intimidate mobile phone carriers under an avalanche of meritless, rapidly evolving legal threats, rather than fairly competing in the marketplace," Samsung said in a court filing in U.S. district court.

Apple sold 11 million units of the iPad in the recent quarter. The iPad 2 has a 1 GHz dual-core Apple A5 processor, 512 MB of RAM, a 9.7-inch display with 1024 x 768 resolution. The iPad 2 uses the iOS 5 software, which promises 200 new user features

Japan. In September, Apple filed a suit against Samsung in the Tokyo District Court calling for a ban on the Samsung Galaxy S II and the Galaxy Tab 7.7. Apple is seeking JPY100 million ($1.3 million) in damages in the lawsuit that claims Samsung is infringing on Apple's touch-screen and gesture patents. Samsung later asked a court in Japan to restrict the sale of the iPhone 4S, which had record global sales of 4 million units in the first three days. Aside from claims that Apple infringed on wireless technology patents, Samsung also claimed that Apple had violated its design and mobile technology patents.

The Galaxy S II is Samsung's best selling smartphone to date. The device has a 4.3-inch display with 800 x 480 resolution, is powered by 1.2 GHz dual0core processor with 1 GB of RAM, and weighs just 116 grams

Germany. A court issued a temporary ban of the sale and promotion of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in 26 of the 27 European member countries, although the ruling was scaled back only to Germany on jurisdictional issues. Apple also obtained an injunction of smaller tablets Galaxy Tab 7.7 and 8.9 in the country. In September, at the opening of the IFA 2011 in Berlin, the world's largest consumer electronics show, Samsung was forced to pull Galaxy Tab 7.7 after Apple quickly obtained an injunction. Samsung has filed an appeal to overturn the injunction, which was recently affirmed. To sidestep the ban, Samsung launched a modified version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1. But Apple this week filed papers asking the German Court to issue a ban of the tablet with a redesigned metal frame and speakers, the Galaxy Tab 10.1N. A hearing on Apple's request is scheduled for Dec. 22 in a Düsseldorf court.

Netherlands. A Dutch court issued a sales ban of the Galaxy S 2 and Galaxy Ace. In August, the Dutch court found that Samsung infringed on a software-related issue (the way the Galaxy S phones is scrolled). The court though dismissed Apple's "look and feel" claims. A Dutch court has also dismissed Samsung's counterclaims, ruling that Samsung's 3G patents were in fact a part of the essential standards, which are not licensable under FRAND terms.

Italy. Samsung filed pleadings in courts in Paris, France and Milano, Italy, accusing Apple of two patent infringements related to wireless telecommunications technology, specifically Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) standards for 3G mobile handsets. The Korean electronics giant is seeking a ban of the iPhone 4S. "Apple has continued to flagrantly violate our intellectual property rights and free ride on our technology. We believe it is now necessary to take legal action to protect our innovation." The court in Italy has ruled against an injunction.

France. The Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris is expected to issue its ruling Dec. 8 on Samsung's request to block iPhone 4 sales in the country. Samsung has filed a suit claiming that Apple's iPhone 4S infringes on Samsung's technology. "The infringed technology is essential to the reliable functioning of telecom networks and devices and Samsung believes that Apple's violation as being too severe and that the iPhone 4S should be barred from sales," the South Korean Electronics giant said. In its defense, Apple says that chips it uses are already properly licensed by Qualcomm, the supplier of certain parts.

South Korea. Contrary to its actions in other countries, Samsung did not pursue a ban on sales of the iPhone 4S in its own turf. "We concluded that we should engage in legal battles with Apple only in the global market, but not in order to gain more market share in Korea," a Samsung executive said.

The iPhone 4S has the same design and same 3.5-inch screen as the 4th generation iPhone. But this new iPhone claims to be all new inside -- it has an advanced camera, 1 GHz dual-core Apple A5 processor (same as iPad 2), and a virtual assistant named Siri. The device is still in 3G, not 4G-LTE