Apple and Samsung add iPhone 5, Note, S3 to brewing law-storm

A US judge has allowed Samsung and Apple to add some extra devices to their lists of allegedly infringing products, bringing the iPhone 5, the Galaxy Note 10.1 and the US version of the Galaxy SII into the mix.

But Judge Paul Grewal partially denied Apple's attempts to tack the Jelly Bean operating system onto the end of the list.

When the iPhone 5 was launched in September, Samsung asked the court to add it to its list because it infringed on Sammy patents in the same way as the already-listed iDevices. Apple then moved to add newer Samsung gear.

The fruity firm didn't oppose Samsung's request to add the iPhone 5 and Judge Grewal said that the Korean firm has given Apple plenty of time to investigate Samsung's "infringement theories" and defend against them.

Grewal was also happy with adding the Galaxy Note 10.1 and the US version of the SIII. He said the Note 10.1 situation was more or less the same as Samsung adding the iPhone 5 and the US version of the SIII just added on to claims Apple made against the UK SIII.

But Grewal wasn't happy with Apple getting a blanket claim against the Jelly Bean OS. He said that adding the Android OS could end up sucking other Samsung devices into the suit. He also pointed out that Jelly Bean is a Google product, not a Samsung one.

"Samsung also does not have any design control over the content of Jelly Bean as it is a Google Android product that Samsung itself did not develop," the ruling said. "The court will not permit a sweeping amendment that might apply to devices other than those properly tied to Samsung.

"The court will allow this proposed amendment, but only as to the Jelly Bean product Apple has specified: the Galaxy Nexus."

Apple has already won one of its patent cases in the US, getting a $1bn jury-awarded settlement that Judge Lucy Koh can triple for the fruity firm. Samsung is trying to get that decision overturned, claiming jury misconduct means that only a brand new trial is fair.

In this second suit, Apple complained about eight more patents allegedly infringed by a whole host of Samsung products, including the Galaxy Nexus and Tab 8.9 fondleslabs. Samsung filed right back, denying those charges and cross-complaining that actually Apple's iPhone and iPad infringe eight of its patents.

Judge Koh, also presiding over this suit, issued a preliminary injunction against sales of the Nexus, but the Court of Appeals overturned the ban in October.

The suit is still in the discovery phase, gathering together its claims by December this year and the rest of its evidence by July next year. ®