The Apple-Samsung legal battle has escalated last Friday when Samsung filed a motion for Apple to provide Samsung a sample of the next generation iPhone and iPad. Samsung claims that seeing the new Apple products will help Samsung evaluate any possible similarities to the Droid Charge and Galaxy Tab 10.1.

This move by Samsung comes just days after a California judge ordered Samsung to hand over samples of the Droid Charge, Infuse 4G, Galaxy S II, and Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9 to Apple lawyers as part of the discovery process. The legal wrangling between the two companies has been going for months now with suit and countersuit being filed. This latest development adds another interesting facet to an already troublesome case.

It seems unlikely that Apple will comply with Samsung's request. The company has always remained tight-lipped about its new products. Apple's request to see Samsung's products were granted because Samsung had already released several units of the Galaxy Tab 10.1s at Google I/O so it wasn't a hardship for them to give in to the court order. Samsung on the other hand is asking for the next generation iPhone and iPad by June 13, 2011 to evaluate any similarities with its products. Samsung doesn't know for sure if Apple is actually planning to release the next generation of iPad and iPhone by that date. Their information is based on internet reports and Apple's past practices. Samsung is asking for Apple products that haven't been announced.

Samsung's motion seems to hinge on a lot of what-ifs. Apple might release a new iPhone and iPad. Apple might file for an injunction. Samsung doesn't have a lot of legal ground to stand on and this seems to be a gamble for additional leverage. For now this is a minor skirmish in the bigger battle to come because all this maneuvering has only revealed that neither side is backing down.