Study Case : Apple Inc. v . Samsung Electronics Co. , Ltd. was the first of a series of ongoing lawsuits between Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics regarding the design of smartphones tablet computers ; between them , the companies made more than half of smartphones sold worldwide as of July 2012. In the spring of 2011 , Apple began litigating against Samsung in patent infringement suits , while Apple and Motorola Mobility were already engaged in a patent war on several fronts . Apple's multinational litigation over technology patents became known as part of the mobile device " smartphone patent wars " : extensive litigation in fierce competition in the global market for consumer mobile communications . By August 2011 , Apple and Samsung were litigating 19 ongoing cases nine countries ; by October , the legal disputes expanded to ten countries . By July 2012 , the two companies were still embroiled in more than 50 lawsuits around the globe , with billions of dollars damages claimed between them . While Apple won a ruling in its favor in the U.S. , Samsung won rulings South Korea , Japan , and On June 4 , 2013 , Samsung won a li ban from the U.S. International Trade Commission on sales of certain Apple products after the commission found Apple had violated a Samsung patent , but this was vetoed by U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman , Q1- What actions that can be considered as a Violation to IP Law ?