The war of words between Apple and Samsung is heating up again.

In an interview with AP, Lee Younghee, Samsung’s head of global marketing for mobile communications, accused Apple of “free riding” on its patented wireless technologies. Lee also said that Samsung is going to be more aggressive in defending itself in the future.

Samsung says it holds key patents that allow, for example, for a person to talk and receive email at the same time.

“We believe Apple is free riding” on such Samsung patents, Lee said.

Apple reacted to Samsung’s claims in the same AP story.

“It is no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging,” said Seoul-based spokesman Steve Park. “This kind of blatant copying is wrong and we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.”

You can’t argue the fact that all smartphone designs changed in 2007, after the iPhone was released. Companies have been copying Apple’s hardware and software design ever since.