Apple sues Samsung over patents in UK

Apple has launched a lawsuit against Samsung in the UK, marking the latest action in a long-running legal row between the two technology giants.

According to ZDNet, the California firm filed the new action at a UK court alleging patent infringement, although it is unclear to which patents the document refers.

South Korean company Samsung has since said that the lawsuit is actually a countersuit against an action taken by Samsung against Apple in June this year.

The filing brings the total number of patent suits between the two companies to 20, as both firms jockey for position in the increasingly competitive smartphone and tablet market.

Last week, a court in Germany banned the Samsung's latest Galaxy Tab product, after ruling that the tablet computer infringed the patents held by Apple.

However, despite the legal jostling, there is also motivation for Samsung to keep relations civil, as it makes chips for Apple's iPhone 4 and iPad and would be reluctant to lose such lucrative business.

Apple is also locked in a patent war with HTC, and the Taiwanese firm recently lodged fresh papers against Apple after it acquired new patents from Google.

HTC America boss Michael Fichter claimed on Monday that Apple's iPhone has become "not that cool anymore" due to the device's mainstream success.