The company logo is displayed at the Samsung news conference at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, January 7, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

Tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Friday it has sued Huawei Technologies Co Ltd for patent infringements in Beijing, escalating a legal battle between the smartphone rivals.

According to the South Korean media reports, Samsung criticized Huawei in a statement, saying that the latter's smartphones and tablets infringe on its patents for mobile communications technology, data storage for images and others.

The South Korean telecom multinationals also accused Huawei of filing "irrational" patent suits against it and claimed compensation up to 80.5 million yuan ($12 million).

"Despite our best efforts to resolve this matter amicably, it has regrettably become necessary to take legal action in order to defend our intellectual property," Samsung said in a statement.

"Currently we've not received the relevant prosecutions in regards to this, and we'll conduct an appropriate response after fully understanding the case," said Huawei in a written statement to China Daily.

"Judicial decisions are one of the most effective ways to resolve differences when intellectual property disputes emerge between two sides".

Earlier this month, the Chinese telecom company filed patent infringement lawsuits against rival Samsung in two courts in China, demanding 80 million yuan ($12 million) in compensation against three subsidiaries of Samsung in the Chinese mainland.

In May, Huawei sued Samsung in both the United States and China, accusing its rival of infringement on patents for fourth-generation (4G) cellular communications technology, operating systems and user interface software.

According to China Daily, data from IDC shows that Huawei shipped about 27.5 million smartphones in the first quarter of this year, far less than Apple's 51. 2 million units and Samsung's 81.9 million units.

But the Chinese company managed a robust growth rate of 58 percent, while Apple saw a sharp decline and Samsung's sales remained roughly flat.