Japan's Matsushita is suing Samsung Electronics for alleged violation of microchip patents in a growing legal battle in the competitive sector. Matsushita Electric Industrial which is behind Panasonic and National brands, brought action before a federal US court on Monday, seeking damages and a court order to stop patent infringement, a company spokesman said Wednesday.

The Matsushita spokesman wouldn't disclose how much the company was seeking in damages from its South-Korean rival.

The patents in question are for dynamic access memory (DRAM), the most commonly used semiconductor providing high-speed storage and retrieval of electronic information memory for a variety of products ranging from personal computersto mobile phones, game consoles, and digital music players.

The DRAM patent is rowing between the two electronics heavyweights for over four years now. First lawsuit was filed in January 2002 and is still pending in court.The two firms are also in a legal fight over plasma display panel (PDP) technologies.