The European Commission is set to charge South Korean electronics group Samsung in an antitrust patent case, the European Union’s competition chief Joaquin Almunia told “Reuters” (http://macte.ch/iooEx).

The EU competition watchdog is investigating whether Samsung broke EU competition rules by filing patent lawsuits against Apple. “We will issue a statement of objections very soon,” Almunia said, referring to the Commission’s charge sheet.

This is all part of the ongoing, global legal battle. Apple and Samsung have filed more than 30 lawsuits against each other across four continents. For example, Apple alleges that Samsung copied the slide-to-unlock technology of its iPhone and iPad devices.