In the latest round of patent lawsuits, Taiwanese chipmaker VIA announced on Wednesday that it has taken legal action against Apple, filling a complaint with the US International Trade Commission and US District Court of Delaware for patent infringement.

VIA claim Apple's iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV products and associated software all infringe patents that the company owns. "VIA has built up an extensive IP portfolio consisting of over 5,000 patents as a result of significant investments in world class technology research and development," commented Wenchi Chen, CEO of VIA Technologies, Inc. "We are determined to protect our interests and the interests of our stockholders when our patents are infringed upon."

The patents in question cover microprocessor functionality and include US patent No. 6253312, Method and apparatus for double operand load; as well as US patent No. 6253311 and 6754810, Instruction set for bi-directional conversion and transfer of integer and floating-point data. 

As part of the lawsuit, VIA is seeking to have Apple banned by the court from making or importing infringing products and have damages awarded. Apple has not publicly commented on the accusations.

In recent months, Apple has been at the center of the patent wars, publicly feuding with Samsung regarding what it feels is Samsung's imitation of the iPhone and iPad in its Galaxy range of devices. It has managed temporarily halt the sale of Samsung's products in several countries, with lawsuits from both firms still ongoing in over two dozen different countries. Apple is also battling HTC and Motorola, which have filed separate lawsuits covering Apple's entire product line.

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