South Korean electronics giant, Samsung Electronics has filed a new lawsuit against Apple in a German court alleging that the American company has infringed upon four of its patents.

Samsung filed the claims with the Mannheim Regional Court in Germany on 16 December. The suits are linked to Samsung's telecommunications standard technology and user interface.

A Samsung spokesman said, "The products that infringed our patents are iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPad 2." He also said that the infringements involve emoticons and a mechanism relating to speech output that are displayed on mobile handsets.

Samsung and Apple are locked in a legal battle across the world with lawsuits spanning different countries from Australia to the US. Apple had filed the first claim in April, accusing Samsung of design and trademark infringements and the south Korean company has since them responded with its own claims.

Samsung has seen some victories recently as a ban on sale of its Galaxy handsets was overturned in Australia and Germany. The latest claim comes after Samsung said in November it would release a modified version of its Galaxy tablet computer in following a court's decision to revoke a ban on its sale. Many believe that as the tide has turned against Apple, the two companies might move to a resolution instead of prolonged legal engagements.