Apple has $US76 billion in cash and is using this immense war chest to sue many of the competitors who are using Google's Android platform to challenge the iPad and iPhone's dominance. iPhone 4. Samsung and Apple are at each other's throats in both smartphones and tablets, with the former's Galaxy S II smartphone and Galaxy Tab tablet regarded by critics as being on par with or superior to Apple's offerings. Recently it was revealed that Apple and Samsung had surpassed Nokia in global smartphone sales and the competition between the two is so heated that Apple and Samsung are now suing each other in no less than nine countries. "It's no coincidence that Samsung's latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging," an Apple Australia spokeswoman said today.

"This kind of blatant copying is wrong, and we need to protect Apple's intellectual property when companies steal our ideas." Apple CEO Steve Jobs presents the iPad 2 Samsung has not commented on the merits of Apple's action but said the case related to the US version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1, which Samsung has now agreed not to sell in Australia. It said a version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 for the Australian market would be released "in the near future" but did not say how this would differ from the US model. Apple may seek injunctions halting the sale of this new model as well if it determines that it is not sufficiently different to avoid infringing Apple's patents. Samsung Galaxy S II.

Samsung agreed to provide Apple three samples of the Australian version of the tablet at least seven days before it planned to start distributing it so the US company could review it, according to the agreement submitted in court. "This undertaking does not affect any other Samsung smartphone or tablet available in the Australian market or other countries," Samsung said. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 The suit is laced with irony as Apple is one of Samsung's biggest customers, with the latter manufacturing flash memory for Apple and the iPad's A5 processor. Apple is also targeting other makers of Google Android smartphones including HTC. The US International Trade Commission recently ruled that HTC infringed on two of Apple's patents. HTC has indicated it will appeal against the ruling, which could see it prevented from selling phones in the US, and has since filed its own lawsuit against Apple in Britain.

Apple is also seeking to prevent HTC from selling its new Flyer tablet and has filed cases against Motorola over separate alleged patent infringements. Just last month Apple settled a similar lawsuit against Nokia. Globally, Apple's products face significant threats from Google Android competitors, with recent figures from Canalys revealing Android has taken 50 per cent of the global smartphone market, compared with 19 per cent for the iPhone. However, in tablets Apple is still by far the dominant player. In the Federal Court yesterday, Apple accused Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 of infringing on 10 of its patents including the "look and feel" and touchscreen technology of the iPad, Steven Burley, a lawyer for Apple, told Federal Court Justice Annabelle Bennett. Apple sought an Australian injunction and also wants to stop Samsung from selling the tablet in other countries, Mr Burley said without specifying where. Samsung agreed to stop advertising the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia and not to sell the device until it wins court approval or the lawsuit is resolved, according to an accord reached by lawyers during a break in the hearing.

In a Federal Court filing obtained by Fairfax Media, Apple accuses Samsung of misleading and deceptive conduct and demands damages. It accuses Samsung of misleading consumers by making representations "to the effect" that the Galaxy Tab 10.1: - is the iPad 2. - is a version of the iPad 2. - has the same performance characteristics as the iPad 2. - is manufactured/supplied by Apple.

- is licensed, sponsored, approved by or otherwise associated with Apple. - is of the same quality and standard as the iPad. Also found in the court application are demands by Apple that all of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 stock be delivered to Apple to be destroyed. The Australian injunction is necessary because Samsung has had "announcements of an imminent launch of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 device ongoing since July 20", Mr Burley said before the agreement was announced. Florian Mueller, an intellectual property expert who writes the FOSS Patents blog, said the fact that Samsung agreed to cancel the Galaxy Tab 10.1's launch "serves as an indication that Apple's allegations probably have some merit".

Mr Mueller said Apple and Samsung were now litigating against each other in at least 11 courts in nine countries including the US, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan and South Korea. Should Apple lose its patent infringement lawsuit, it agreed to pay Samsung damages, which weren't specified. The dispute between the companies began in April when Apple sued Samsung in the US, claiming the Galaxy products "slavishly" imitated the designs and technologies used for its iPad and iPhone. A decision is scheduled to be made by the Distribute Court for the Northern District of California in mid-October. Samsung retaliated with lawsuits in South Korea, Japan, Germany and the US. The Australian dispute relates only to Samsung's tablets but it is understood that Apple could also seek to restrain the company from selling its smartphones in Australia if US courts find Samsung infringed Apple's patents.

Intellectual property law expert Trevor Choy said the patent dispute could be raging for years and was "all about formalised damage control". "If Samsung is found to have infringed, then the suspension of sales prevents Apple from unfairly suffering too much damage," he said. "If Samsung is innocent, then Apple pays the costs associated with suspension." Apple has sold nearly 29 million iPads since they first went on sale in April last year. Mr Choy said that, given the huge contribution the product makes to Apple's earnings, the company's lawyers "will have been given fresh instructions to do whatever it takes to protect the goose responsible for those golden eggs". Despite the release of several Google Android-based competitors from the likes of Acer, Samsung, Toshiba, Motorola, Lenovo, Huawei and Asus - not to mention the impending launch of HP's TouchPad - iPad sales have only continued to surge.

Last month, Apple revealed its quarterly results showing iPad sales worldwide had nearly doubled from a quarter ago to 9.25 million units. Mr Choy said the Australian court would independently determine whether Samsung had infringed Apple's patents but the case "will be very heavily influenced by the US decision". "US litigation can take years, although I would think they would find a way to fast track this. Since just a short delay would already be a benefit to Apple, they probably won't be too unreasonable," he said. Foad Fadaghi, mobile market analyst at Telsyte, said smartphone makers were entering a litigation minefield as the market became more competitive. "Ironically, when product launches get stopped it creates awareness and increased demand for the banned product, but Samsung needs to bring products quickly and regularly to maintain or grow market share," he said.

"Samsung is the No.2 in tablets in Australia - any product delay might hand its Android competitors such as Motorola an opportunity." Justice Bennett scheduled a hearing for August 29 to review the status of the case and set a trial date if necessary. These are the Australian patents Apple alleges Samsung infringed: Standard Patents

- 2008201540: List scrolling and document translation, scaling, and rotation on a touch-screen display

- 2005246219: Multipoint touchscreen

- 2007283771: Portable electronic device for photo management

- 2009200366: List scrolling and document translation, scaling, and rotation on a touch-screen display

- 2007286532: Touch screen device, method and graphical user interface for determining commands by applying heuristics Innovation Patents

- 2008100283: List scrolling and document translation, scaling, and rotation on a touch-screen display

- 2008100372: Electronic device for photo management

- 2009100820: Unlocking a device by performing gestures on an unlock image

- 2008100419: Unlocking a device by performing gestures on an unlock image

- 2008101171: Portable electronic device for imaged-based browsing of contacts

Loading - with Bloomberg This reporter is on Twitter: @ashermoses