Apple Seeks Injunction on Samsung Phone: Report

SAN JOSE, Calif. (TheStreet) -- Apple(AAPL) recently escalated its legal battle against Samsung by asking a California court to issue an injunction blocking sales the Galaxy Nexus smartphone, according to published media reports.

In the suit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Apple accuses Samsung of violating four Apple patents with its new phone, according to a Dow Jones report published over the weekend.

News of the suit appeared to first hit the blogosphere on Friday.

Apple argues that the new Samsung phone is the strongest competitor yet to its iPhone and poses a robust threat to its market share, the Dow Jones report said.

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The latest suit differs from an Apple suit against Samsung filed in San Jose in April 2011 that is expected to go to trial this year, the report added. That's because the new suit focuses on technical patents instead of design ones.

For example, one patent in Wednesday's suit covers a function called slide-to-unlock, which allow a users to unlock his phone by sliding an image of a button across the phone's screen, according to the Dow Jones report.

Samsung said it was aware of the new suit from Apple and that it would "defend against Apple's claims to ensure our continued innovation and growth," the report added.

Meanwhile, an Apple representative reiterated previous company statements that Samsung copied its products, the report said.

Shares of Apple finished Friday's session up 25 cents at $493.42.

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