LTE iPhone 5 Could Get Apple Sued By Samsung

Apple is yet to announce iPhone 5 and already it is being reported that Samsung may sue Apple over the LTE iPhone 5. A couple of weeks back the Cupertino California company scored a major victory in court when it was awarded over a billion dollars in damages after Samsung was found guilty of having infringed on Apple’s patents. While Samsung has decided to appeal that decision in court, it looks like they aren’t giving up the legal wars just yet. If Samsung does sue Apple for LTE iPhone 5 and manages to obtain an injunction against sales, it could be trouble for Apple.

Tomorrow on September 12 Apple will unveil its next generation iPhone to the world. Shipments for the US are expected to begin after just nine days on September 21. It is widely expected that the new iPhone will feature LTE compatibility. It is a huge possibility because Apple finally introduced LTE in the New iPad earlier this year in March. Reportedly the iPhone 5 will have worldwide LTE compatibility which would obviously be limited to regions as well as certain mobile carriers.

The Korea Times says in a new report that it has heard from ranking officials that Samsung is planning to sue Apple after it launches the iPhone 5. The premise of this lawsuit will be infringement of 4G LTE patents held by Samsung. Regardless of the fact that the first legal dispute between these two is far from over, we could very well see a new patent war being waged between Apple and Samsung as soon as the sixth generation iPhone comes out.

The fact that Samsung has over 800 patents related to 4G LTE doesn’t lift Apple’s hopes for avoiding litigation right after its signature smartphone, the one people have long been waiting for, hits the market. Apple itself has over 400 LTE related patents most of which it inherited after the purchase of Nortel IP. Samsung is clearly the market leader in this category and it already has its own signature 4G LTE compatible smartphone out in the market, the Galaxy S III.

Apple and Samsung have been going at each other in court around the world. So far Apple has been lucky in Australia, Germany and its home ground the United States of America. One thing is for sure though, Apple won’t be too worried about impending litigation merely one day before the announcement of its biggest product. We also know that a company the size, as well as revenue, of Apple is never shy of jumping in to a full blown legal battle.