Rich Fiscus
8 Sep 2011 14:05
Add Japan to the list of countries where Apple is suing Samsung to get competing products taken off the market.
It is the latest development in Apple's campaign of patent and trademark related litigation which began in April. Apple has gone after Samsung in the US, Australia, throughout the EU & South Korea.
As in other countries, Apple wants to ban the import of Samsung's Galaxy smartphones and tablets.
Perhaps not by coincidence, the lawsuit, which was filed last month, comes shortly before the much anticipated of the next iPhone. Depending on which reports and rumors you believe, that will occur either this month or in October.
Even if Apple eventually loses the lawsuit, a temporary injunction would improve Apple's position in Japan at the best possible time.
Despite being generally quite successful in Japan, Apple has not been able to work out any kind of deal with NTT DoCoMo, the country's largest mobile carrier, to sell the iPhone or iPad. Samsung, on the other hand, has such a deal to sell their Galaxy phones and tablets.
Although the temporary loss of Samsung products probably wouldn't force a deal with DoCoMo, eliminating Samsung competition at launch time might still improve iPhone sales immediately after the launch date. That's when the iPhone usually has the most buzz anyway.
While it probably helps their market share in the short term, the publicity over Apple's competition by litigation strategy might have just the opposite effect in the long term. Samsung, in particular, has gotten something of a reputation as the company Apple is scared to compete with in the open market.