The suit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco and first reported by the , alleges that Samsung infringes on a number of Apple patents for technology and "trade dress" of its mobile product line.

In exhibits attached to court documents, Apple displays photos of Samsung's thin, black, glossy, rectilinear-with-rounded-corners mobile devices displaying lots of colorful icons, next to photos of its own thin, black, glossy, rectilinear-with-rounded-corners mobile phone and colorful icons.

That's the problem with making insanely great stuff. Everybody else wants to be insanely great too--even companies like Samsung, which are both Apple's competitor and a supplier of microchips for the iPad and other devices. In fact, we reported last year that Apple used in its iPhone and iPad for its own Galaxy product line.

The Cupertino company claims in the suit that Samsung's earlier device and interface designs were entirely different. According to the pleadings, "Rather than innovate and develop its own technology and a unique Samsung style for its smart phone products and computer tablets, Samsung chose to copy Apple's technology, user interface, and innovative style in these infringing products."

Our Jared Newman noted back in March that line in the wake of the iPad's success. "It's clear that [Samsung does] not intend to let Apple run away with the category," CCS Insight analyst John Jackson told Reuters.