The South Korean company said it filed the motion Monday with a US District Court in northern California alleging that Apple's latest iPhone infringes on eight of 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 said.
A US court lifted a temporary sales ban on Samsung Electronic's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer in the US.
The two leaders in the smartphone market have sued each other in 10 countries including the US, Britain, Australia and South Korea.//DPA