High-stakes Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL), Samsung patent trials start on Monday

The stage is set for a face-off between two technology giants - Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co - as they battle for supremacy in the mobile technology space, with Apple accusing the Korean company of copyright infringement of its mobile devices. 

On Monday a federal court in San Jose, California will be the setting for a hearing on patent trials, a bone of contention between the two companies. 

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Apple, which lost out to Samsung earlier this year as the world's largest smartphone maker, has sued Samsung for copying the technology on which its iPhones and iPads are based.

  

The Korean handset maker, which rapidly gained market share riding on the sale of its best-selling Galaxy range of phones an tablets, faces a potential ban on sales of its products in the U.S. 

Apple is seeking $2.53 million in damages from Samsung, though that figure could well go up if the court finds that Samsung knowingly violated patent laws. 

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The fight is not restricted to the U.S., but has spread to other countries as well, where both companies are engaged in garnering market share. 

Other tech giants such as Microsoft, IBM, Nokia and Blackberry-maker Research in Motion, have also been drawn into the battle as they are trying to keep their own patent licensing agreements from being made public during the trials between the two companies.

  

Samsung stands to lose a lot - more than 20 percent of its profits - if it faces a permanent ban on selling its products in the U.S. especially its recently launched Galaxy SIII, which has proved every bit as popular as its predecessor.

  

On Friday Samsung said in a statement that Apple was "free-riding" on its technology "while using excessive legal claims against our products in their attempt to limit consumer choice and discourage innovation."