Dyson claims Samsung stole its design for ball steering

Dyson is taking Samsung Electronics to the High Court, claiming the South Korean company infringed on a patent for its ball steering system on vacuum cleaners.

The British engineer claimed that Samsung had copied its "cleaning appliance with a steering mechanism" patent which it said was the result of three years of research.

Sir James Dyson said: "This looks like a cynical rip off by the giant Korean company Samsung. Although they are copying Dyson's patented technology, their machine is not the same. Samsung has many patent lawyers so I find it hard not to believe that this is a deliberate or utterly reckless infringement of our patent. "

Samsung said its swivel vacuum was from its "own research and development". It added it would "take all necessary measures, including legal actions, to protect our innovation against Dyson's groundless claims".