[JURIST] Apple [corporate website; Bloomberg backgrounder] filed a complaint against Samsung Electronics [corporate website; Bloomberg backgrounder] Tuesday with the US International Trade Commission (USITC) [official website] in an effort to bar importation of Samsung’s smartphones and tablets. Apple claims [Dow Jones report] Samsung’s “Galaxy” line copies its iPhone and iPad technology. Apple’s latest move comes just a week after Samsung filed a similar complaint [USITC docket; JURIST report] seeking to prevent Apple from importing iPads and iPhones. Samsung claimed that Apple violated five patents [Bloomberg report] also related to smartphones and tablets. In addition, Samsung filed a patent infringement suit [Bloomberg report] against Apple in the High Court in London last week.

Apple’s complaint Tuesday is the latest installment in the ongoing conflict between the two companies.Two weeks ago, Apple filed suit [JURIST report] in the Seoul Central District Court against the “Galaxy” line. In April, Apple also filed a similar suit against Samsung [JURIST report] in the US. Samsung countered [JURIST report] by filing patent infringement suits against Apple in three different countries, alleging that Apple had infringed its technology related to energy consumption and preventing data transmission errors. Though competitors, Samsung and Apple rely on each in business. Apple is the largest buyer of computer and phone chips, while Samsung is the world’s largest manufacturer of those chips. In fact, after Apple’s initial lawsuit against Samsung, Apple indicated a willingness to continue working with Samsung [Bangkok Post report] as a partner.