Samsung Electronics Co. will seek a global sales ban on the upcoming iPhone as part of an all-out war against Apple Inc., a high-ranking company official said Wednesday, signaling a shift in its position on the deepening legal row.

Samsung, which is embroiled in some 20 patent lawsuits with Apple around the world, will likely throw down the gauntlet over the new iPhone that Apple is expected to present next week, the senior vice president said.

"It is true that Apple was free-riding on our mobile technologies," the executive told reporters in Seoul, requesting customary anonymity.

Samsung will "likely" seek a sales ban on the new iPhone overseas, the executive added. The company is also reviewing a sales injunction in South Korea on the new iPhone, which media have referred to as the iPhone 5.

Apple has invited reporters to its Cupertino headquarters for an iPhone-related event on Oct. 4, the Wall Street Journal reported.

So far, Samsung has not asked Apple for licensing fees on the mobile patents in question because Apple contributes some 10 trillion won in revenues for Samsung every year, the executive said.

"But our response will take a turn," the source added, hinting that the company will become more aggressive.

Apple is a major semiconductor customer for Samsung, the world's largest memory chipmaker and the world's second-biggest mobile-phone maker.

The two companies clashed in a court in the Hague earlier this week. Samsung, which failed to overturn a German court's ban on its tablet PC in Germany, is seeking a sales ban on the iPhone and the iPad in the Netherlands.

The Dutch court is scheduled to deliver a ruling next month, media reports said.

"Apple is not engaged in the lawsuits to get cross-licensing deals," the Samsung official said. "It's a matter of pride for Apple. It probably wanted to give the impression that Samsung is copying (Apple)."  (Yonhap News)