Will Apple Attempt to Ban Samsung Galaxy S3 in Australia?

Apple filed a lawsuit against its rival Samsung to prevent the sale of the latter's 2012 flagship phone, Galaxy S3, in the US.

Apple and Samsung entered another lawsuit battle when Apple tried to put a halt on the sales of the Galaxy S3 in the UnitedStates. Will Apple file a similar lawsuit against Samsung in Australia since the country proved to be one of the key markets of the Korea-based company?

The company filed preliminary injunctions last June 5 in the District Court for the Northern District of California accusing Samsung copyright infringement of Apple's user interface patents.

The two companies were in about 30 patent wars around 10 different countries so far.

"Samsung believes Apple's request is without merit. We will vigorously oppose the request and demonstrate to the court that the Galaxy S III is innovative and distinctive," said Samsung in a statement.

Samsung said it plans to launch the new smartphone device will be available in the US later this month and said that the latest tackle by the iPhone maker "would only serve to disrupt consumers' access to the latest innovative mobile technology," Apple spokesman Steve Park in Seoul, South Korea said.

"It is no coincidence that Samsung's latest products look a lot like the iPhone and the iPad devices, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging. This kind of blatant copying is wrong and we need to protect the Apple's intellectual property when companies steal our ideas," the Apple spokesman added.

Apple previously filed a lawsuit against Samsung when it tried to prevent the sale of Samsung's tablet, the Galaxy Tab in the Netherlands, the US and up to 10 other countries including Australia.

Samsung launched the device in 28 countries. The device is already for sale in UK and Middle East as it hit the stores last May 31 hoping to maintain its lead against rival Apple's iPhone 5, which is predicted to be released in October. In Australia, Samsung galaxy S3 is already available on the three largest networks.

Apple and Samsung are in legal battle for a while. However, the two companies are still doing business together as Samsung is a supplier of Apple.