September's patent war episode was all about Apple vs. Samsung. In an effort to block the launch of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 7.7, Apple sued and won an injunction in Germany, where the Korean giant had announced the device. At that time, Samsung officials said they'd respect the German court decision and would pursue "all available measures, including legal options, to defend its intellectual property rights and ensure its innovative products remain available to German consumers."

Now, says FOSS Patents, it's Samsung's turn to return Apple's punch by seeking an injunction against Apple's 3G iPads and iPhones. Samsung owns patents on a "turbo encoding/decoding device and method for processing frame data according to QoS" and an "apparatus and method for controlling a demultiplexer and a multiplexer used for rate matching in a mobile communication system." In English, the first patent is linked to the 3G standard, while the second relates to its implementation. Samsung's lawyers say both are important to the 3G standard. What does Samsung want? Simple. A permanent ban against "the distribution, damages relating to past sales, a recall from the retail channel and the destruction of all 3G-capable Apple devices (iPhones and iPods)" across the Federal Republic of Germany. Foss Patents' Florian Mueller, who attended the hearing, says that the judges seemed inclined to give Samsung the decision over the first patent, but side with Apple over the second. Samsung - Apple trials have been scheduled to begin in January. Apple's attorneys must come up with solid evidence by December 23 if they don't want to risk an injunction in Germany. We'll keep you updated.