SEOUL, June 30 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Electronics Co., the world's second-biggest maker of mobile phones, said Thursday that it has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) against Apple Inc., seeking import bans on six Apple products, including the iPhone, the iPad and the iPod.

Apple violated five patents of Samsung, including wireless communications technology and technology used to transfer data or files from PCs to mobile devices, Kevin Jeong, a spokesman at Samsung Electronics, said by phone.  

Samsung sent a request to the ITC on Tuesday (U.S. time), asking the agency to conduct an investigation on wireless communication devices, portable music and data processing devices, and tablet computers made by Apple, according to a statement on the Washington, DC-based agency's Web site. 

The latest complaint further escalates legal disputes between the world's two fastest growing smartphone makers entangled in patent wars in four countries.

In April, Apple sued Samsung in a U.S. district court, claiming that Samsung's Galaxy series of smartphones and tablet PCs copied designs, mobile software and other patents of the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet computer and iPod music player.

Samsung responded with countersuits against Apple in South Korea, Japan, Germany and the U.S., claiming that Apple's products infringed upon the Korean company's patents in wireless communications, data transmissions and power controls.

Last week, Apple lodged another lawsuit against Samsung with a district court in Seoul, asking a sales ban on Samsung devices that Apple alleged are copied from its ideas, the legal document filed with the Seoul Central District Court showed.