A Galaxy of problems for Samsung and Apple

Smartphone makers Samsung and Apple are locked in an escalating patent war that has already resulted in sales injunctions and looks set to become even more bitter.

Samsung has sought a ban on the sale of Apple’s new iPhone4S in Australia and Japan, and filed suit in Italy and France claiming that the device infringes its patents.

These developments come just weeks after Apple secured court injunctions in Australia and Germany prohibiting the sale of Samsung’s Galaxy 10.1 smartphone, as well as a judgement from a US judge finding that Samsung infringed some of Apple’s patents. But in the US case, California District Judge Lucy Koh said that Apple would need to prove the validity of its patents before she would grant an injunction.

Samsung says it will continue to fight against the injunctions, but it may also be considering modifying its handsets in the affected countries to sidestep the patent concerns, as it did in a similar situation in the Netherlands.