The number of lawsuits between Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Samsung increased to 21 by the end of last week, with more expected to come in the world-spanning tit-for-tat litigation. At the moment, Apple has succeeded in imposing an injunction against Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in Germany, as well as a temporary one in Australia.

As reported on The Register, Samsung insiders have reportedly talked about plans by the company to flex its mobile telecommunications-related patents and seek a ban on the import and sales of the iPhone 5 in South Korea, once it's released.

Samsung appears to be adopting a new strategy to leverage its clout in wireless communications standards to hit Apple where it matters most--the now ubiquitous iPhone smartphone. Moreover, Samsung also holds substantial holdings relating to the next-gen LTE, which would surely threaten any future LTE-based iPhone.

Patent litigations are extremely messy affairs. Ironically, the companies that tend to achieve favorable outcomes from such legal challenges are those that hold valuable patents but make no products themselves.

Apple going down the litigation route is indicative of the priority it assigns to the tablet market it single-handedly created. The company is on track to sell an estimated 37 million iPads this year.

For more:
- check out this article at The Register

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