Reuters is reporting that Samsung will be amending its counterclaims against Apple in the two companies' second lawsuit in California, currently scheduled for trial in March 2014. Here's what Samsung is saying:

"Samsung anticipates that it will file, in the near future, a motion to amend its infringement contentions to add the iPhone 5 as an accused product ... Based on information currently available, Samsung expects that the iPhone 5 will infringe the asserted Samsung patents-in-suit in the same way as the other accused iPhone models."

This trial focuses squarely on software patents Apple is claiming are violated by the entire Android operating system (eg, the app picker, unified search, auto-correct), and has essentially nothing to do with product design.

Samsung wants to allege that the iPhone 5 violates all eight of the patents-in-suit it has presented, in response to the eight patents Apple has asserted against it. Eight for eight, which is sort of an odd coincidence. The patents Samsung is asserting relate to network technology and software, so presumably neither iOS6 nor the iPhone 5 have avoided what Samsung believes to be its wrongfully infringed IP.

Right now, this really doesn't mean much. Samsung has already named a number of Apple products in this lawsuit, and is simply taking the predictable measure of tacking on Apple's newest release. To clarify, this has nothing to do with any of the LTE patents Samsung has threatened to sue Apple for infringing with the iPhone 5, and Samsung will likely not be able to add those patents to this particular suit - it will have to file a new action if it wishes to assert them.

There has been no indication Samsung will be seeking a preliminary injunction as part of this lawsuit, but given the rather substantial loss the company suffered last month to Apple in the same court (and under the same judge), I wouldn't put it out of the realm of possibility.

Reuters