Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday it has officially added Apple Inc.’s iPhone 5 to the ongoing patent war between the two smartphone titans, a move that could affect sales of the latest iPhone.

In a statement, Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone maker, said it has filed a motion to add Apple’s latest gadget to the U.S. patent row on charges of infringing its patents.

“Apple continues to take aggressive legal measures that will limit market competition. Under these circumstances, we have little choice but to take the steps necessary to protect our innovations and intellectual property rights,” Samsung Electronics said in the statement.

The latest action adds the iPhone 5 to the second lawsuit Samsung filed against Apple in April of this year. Samsung has accused Apple of infringing eight patents, including two standard patents and six utility patents.

The move follows Samsung’s Sept. 19 U.S. court filing, in which the company said it may move to add the iPhone 5 to the patent row once the device was officially released. Apple released its newest version on Sept. 21.

Samsung and Apple have been locked in legal tussles on four continents over design and technology patent infringement claims.

Following a U.S. jury verdict that ordered Samsung to pay $1.05 billion in damages for infringing six patents, the top smartphone maker vowed to fight back.

Market watchers had raised views Samsung may use its long-term evolution patent portfolio to attack the iPhone 5 device, Apple’s first phone that runs on the fourth-generation network. 

(Yonhap News)