The BBC is reporting that British manufacturer Dyson is suing Samsung over claims that the South Korean firm "ripped off" one of its inventions.

The dispute centres over the launch of the Motion Sync vacuum cleaner which the South Korean firm showed off at the Ifa tech show in Berlin last week.

Dyson alleges that the machine infringes its patent on a steering mechanism for cylinder cleaners.



A spokeswoman for Samsung said it had no comment on the matter.

In February 2009 a judge ordered Samsung to pay Dyson about £600,000 after it tried to patent the British firm's existing "triple-cyclone" suction technology.

Dyson has also sued Hoover, Vax and Bosch in the past to protect its technologies, with varying success.