Apple seeks Android source code from Google

In its patent war with Samsung, US technology titan Apple seems to have finally taken the fight to Google. The company founded by late visionary Steve Jobs has asked a US court to direct the world's biggest internet search company to handover the source code of its Android operating system.

According to a news report in Bloomberg Businessweek, Apple told the US court that Google is "improperly withholding" data that it requested in the pre-trial information sharing stage. Apple has sought this information in the second-patent infringement case it has filed at the San Jose court. As per the court filing, the iPhone maker has argued that Android is used in all of Samsung's allegedly infringing products and "provides much of the accused functionality."

The latest development in the war between Apple and Samsung comes in the lawsuit that includes patent violation charges on phones like iPhone 5 and Galaxy S III.

However, a lawyer for Google (but who also represents Samsung in the case) told the court that the Tim Cook-led company made this "strategic decision to keep Google off the complaint." He said that the internet search giant does not have the same legal rights as the Apple and Samsung in this case "with respect to reciprocal discovery," the report states.

Apple and Samsung are embroiled in a patent battles across various parts of the world. One of the biggest judgements in the matter came last year, when a US jury concluded that Samsung has violated Apple patents and awarded the latter $1.05 billion. However, this sum was slashed later to $450.5 million by the court and a new date to determine final damages in the case was set.