In contrast to , which deals with patents relating to user interface, underlying architecture, and hardware, Apple's action against Samsung seems to focus more on the look and feel of the products: Everything from device form factors to icons to the packaging is deemed to be infringing upon Apple's iconic iPhones, iPod touches, and iPads.

Apple's never been shy about talking up its intellectual property; after , Apple CEO Steve Jobs followed up his description of the device's multitouch interface by saying: "and boy, have we patented it." And during , COO Tim Cook said the company liked competition, but wouldn't stand to have its intellectual property "ripped off" and would use "whatever weapons we have at our disposal," quotes that at the time seemed aimed at the then-unreleased Palm Pre.

The question is: Why Samsung? Android and other touchscreen-based operating systems like HP's webOS have been around for a few years. The major reason, at least based on my reading of the complaint, is apparently that Apple believes this is a solid case, because Samsung's products--which incorporate its own user interface called --are so close to Apple's own that Cupertino alleges they're deliberately intended to be confused. (For more, tech writer and former copyright attorney Nilay Patel has an excellent .)

Samsung, for its part, isn't about to take the suit lying down--the South Korea-based company has said it intends to . There's an added wrinkle to this particular case, too: Apple is a heavy buyer of Samsung's LCD display panels and semiconductors (read: NAND flash memory) that go into making things like--you guessed it--the iPad and the iPhone. Is this suit merely the next step in a negotiation gone sour? Or, , "the latest move in an escalating game of chicken."