It's getting hard to keep up with all of the lawsuits and countersuits [1][2][3][4][5][6] these days in the mobile industry. The company with the largest target appears to be Google thanks to patent infringements and market dominance with the Android operating system. Apple, however, has its own favorite whipping boy which just so happens to be Samsung.

Samsung is answering back with a lawsuit of its own France reports AFP. The South Korean company alleges that Apple is infringing on three mobile phone technology patents and that infringing products include the iPhone and the iPad. Specifically, the complaint fixates on the iPhone 3G/3GS/4 and both generations of the iPad. 

The three patents center on UMTS 3G technology that is found in all cellular-capable iPads and iPhones with the exception of original iPhone released in 2007. 

Apple already won a huge battle in Germany, as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (and its smaller Galaxy Tab 7.7 sibling) have been kicked to the curb due infringements on Apple's "minimalist design". Presiding Judge Johanna Brueckner-Hofmann of the Dusseldorf, Germany asserted that, "The court is of the opinion that Apple’s minimalistic design isn’t the only technical solution to make a tablet computer, other designs are possible. For the informed customer there remains the predominant overall impression that the device looks [like the Apple iPad]." 

Brueckner-Hofmann went on to add, "The crucial issue was whether the Galaxy tablet looked like the drawings registered as a design right. Also, our case had nothing to do with trademarks or patents for technology."

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Samsung has filed an appeal, but the company hasn't expounded on what grounds it’s basing the appeal on.