Samsung Seeks Sales Ban on Apple IPhone 4S in France, Italy

Samsung Electronics Co. will seek to ban Apple’s iPhone 4S in France and Italy on patent- infringement claims, escalating the dispute between the world’s two biggest makers of smartphones and tablets.

Samsung will file motions with courts in Paris and Milan seeking the ban, each citing two patent infringements on wireless telecommunications technology, the Suwon, South Korea- based company said in an e-mailed statement today. Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S and aims to start sales later this month. The move adds to legal disputes that began in April, when Apple claimed that Samsung’s Galaxy devices ‘‘slavishly” copied the iPad and iPhone. At stake is dominance in the fastest-growing segment of the $207 billion mobile-phone market, where Apple is competing against makers of handsets powered by Google’s Android operating system.