Apple sues Samsung in Japan

Apple's legal fracas with Samsung has reached Japan, with the iPhone maker asking a Japanese court to ban a slew of Samsung gadgets.

The lawsuit was filed in the Tokyo District Court, and requests that Samsung's Galaxy S, Galaxy S2 and the Galaxy Tab 7.7 be banned from sale in Japan, according to Reuters, which cites "sources close to the matter".

The first hearing in the case apparently took place on Wednesday, and Apple is allegedly also seeking ¥100m (about £800,000) in damages, as well as the sales ban.

Anyone who's been following the legal grappling between these two companies will know this isn't the first time Apple has attacked Samsung. Last week Apple managed to get Samsung's brand-new Galaxy Tab 7.7 tablet banned in Germany, where it was on show at the IFA tech conference.

Prior to that, Apple had managed to get the larger Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned across most of Europe -- now it's banned in Germany, while the hugely popular Galaxy S2 smart phone is banned across Europe.

Apple reckons Samsung's devices "slavishly" copy its own iPad and iPhone gadgetry, right down to the packaging the devices come in. Apple is also fighting a courtroom battle with HTC, with a US judge decreeing HTC is infringing upon Apple's patents. 

Has this legal onslaught gone too far? Are we looking at a future where it's illegal for anyone other than Apple to put phones and tablets on sale? Let us know what you think in the comments section below, or on our Facebook wall.