T-Mobile joins Verizon in backing Samsung against Apple

T-Mobile has joined US comms giant Verizon in backing Samsung's fight against Apple, which has requested a preliminary injunction against the Korean manufacturer's products.

T-Mobile's argument is essentially the same as that made by Verizon last week, in that the mobile operator does not want a ban on 4G devices in the US during the busy Christmas shopping season.

However, T-Mobile's case differs slightly from Verizon's as is not limited to one software patent asserted by Apple, according to patents expert Florian Mueller.

"T-Mobile is forthright about its opposition to an injunction on any ground, whether based on the software patent or any or all of the three asserted design patents," he wrote on the FOSS Patents blog.

"However, T-Mobile doesn't really explain why it files its submission now and didn't do so a while ago. After all, Apple's motion for a preliminary injunction was filed on 1 July."

The news is another bonus for Samsung, which faces a tough fight against Apple on several fronts in courts in the US and Europe.

Samsung announced a cross-licensing deal with Microsoft on Tuesday under which Samsung will pay royalties on Android mobile devices.

The deal was widely seen as recognition by Samsung that Android has intellectual property problems, and that Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility is unlikely to help the Android ecosystem.

However, the Microsoft tie-up will not help Samsung in its fight with Apple, which is a completely separate case, Mueller noted.