Samsung's phones and tablets aren't the only thing under attack for patent infringement. The BBC reports that vacuum maker Dyson has filed a suit accusing Samsung of using its patented vacuum-steering system in its own Motion Sync vacuum cleaner, announced at IFA earlier this week. "This looks like a cynical rip-off," said company founder Sir James Dyson. "Samsung has many patent lawyers, so I find it hard not to believe that this is a deliberate or utterly reckless infringement of our patent."
Dyson has a history of patent battles with its rivals. It's periodically gone to court with Hoover, and it won another patent case against Samsung in 2009, when a court ruled that Samsung had infringed on its super-powerful vacuuming mechanism. Now, it's saying that Samsung is stealing ideas from a 2009 patent on a fast-steering system that would let vacuums swivel easily instead of having to make clumsy turns with the wheels. The Motion Sync indeed touts a system that separates the body from the wheels for faster turns. While Dyson hasn't said whether it will seek a licensing fee or a full ban on the product, we expect readers will find this latest swivel in the Samsung patent saga as engrossing as anything that came before.