It was bound to happen. Really, it was inevitable at this point, however today we've gotten official word that Samsung is requesting to add the newest iPad, the iPad Mini, and the latest iPod Touch to its lawsuit against the Cupertino company. This isn't shocking so much as it is entirely expected. Still, while HTC and Apple are busy settling their differences and the patent wars seemingly cooling off—if only a bit—this is a solid reminder that the two manufacturers with the most to gain (and lose!) from this fight aren't backing away from each other.

No new patents are being added to the case, so it's simply a matter of including as much ammunition as possible to lob in Apple's general direction. It's still up to the judge to determine whether or not the devices will be allowed in, but after Samsung successfully added the iPhone 5 to the case, this wouldn't be too surprising.

In fact, the only thing that would be surprising at this point is if the Samsung and Apple managed to come to some kind of agreement like the one HTC has. Samsung succeeded in its bid to view a heavily-redacted version of that licensing agreement. The company is likely interested in this for leverage purposes (if it can prove that a set of patents isn't worth as much to Apple as it claims, for example, that information could be used to reduce damages). However, one can't help but hope that Sammy is also thinking, in the back of its mind, how nice it would be to find a number they both can agree on and put this silly mess behind them.

Why do all my legal posts end in wishful thinking? Sigh.

Source: Samsung via The Verge