back to article Samsung must cough up Android prototypes to Apple

A US federal judge has handed Apple a procedural victory in its legal spat with Samsung by ordering the Korean giant to provide Cupertino's legal team with product samples and packaging for two of its tablets and three of its phones. The order grows out of Apple's lawsuit against Samsung for "slavishly" copying its iPhone and …

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  1. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge
    Jobs Horns

    Rounded Corners. It can only be a matter of time...

    ...before Apple starts suing civil engineers, aerospace engineers, automotive engineers, everyone really. Damn.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      WTF?

      Prior Art

      Maybe Apple / Samsung looked at the Rounded corners on keyboards OOOH!!!

      Prior Art Anyone ???

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Stop

      title

      I know it's 'fashionable' to have a go at apple these days and make ridiculous claims against them;

      look - apple are not suing LG, Nokia, HTC and any number of device manufacturers for 'rounded corners' they are suing Samsung for ripping off the iPhone and iPad look and feel;

      Take the iphone 3gs, put it next to Samsung Galaxy S and compare; it appears Samsung really have gone out of their way to make it look just about identical;

      Now same is happening with their Galaxy Tab, copying every ipad design detail, even the data/power connector looks the same as apple's; in their wisdom Samsung have chosen to copy the crippling design limitations like lack of usb, hdmi and sd card slots ...

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Do you really think it will stop here?

        "look - apple are not suing LG, Nokia, HTC and any number of device manufacturers for 'rounded corners' they are suing Samsung for ripping off the iPhone and iPad look and feel;"

        If Apple wins this stupidity then they'll be after anyone else they can, I wouldn't put it past them to start suing companies who use the same shade of white as they do and that includes paint manufacturers.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Badgers

          another title

          Well, we don't know if this will set any precedent, and any further action by apple is pure speculation; we're just looking at the merits of this case - did samsung rip off the design of iphone and ipad;

          if you compare iphone 3gs and samsung galaxy s - objectively - you will know the answer;

          now is it right for Samsung to have done so ? Why not omit the silver trims around the edge, make it a different colour etc - they could have built in any number of subtle differences but have chosen a design that's virtually a carbon copy of their competitor's

          Say that you were a manufacturer of widgets of some sort, and have spent hundreds of manhours on a particular design - how would you react to another manufacturer down the road blatantly cloning everything except for your company logo ?

          1. This post has been deleted by its author

            1. D@v3
              FAIL

              comparison fail

              If you re-read the post your commenting on, you will see the comparison is between the 3g(s) and the Galaxy S.

              The video that you linked to was the iPhone4 and the Galaxy S.

              Considering there are differences between the 3G(s) and the 4, then yes, the GalaxyS and the iPhone4 will not look the same.

      2. Farmer Hackit
        WTF?

        This has to be sarcasm right?

        I have a Galaxy Tab right here.. I can see, USB Cable and a SD Card slot. no HDMI though. Sure the data connector/power cable looks similar but it's practical. Start filling the devices up with sockets and you get something looking like a cheap laptop.

        I've used an iPad right next to my Galaxy tab, I was comparing to see how similar they really were...

        They are utterly different.

        iPad is WAY bigger - like a laptop screen, Galaxy Tab fits neatly into a jacket pocket.. odd that iPad2 is smaller.

        Galaxy Tab has 2 cameras.. iPad1 has none.. strange that iPad2 has a camera now..

        Galaxy Tab can be used as a Cell Phone and a wifi hotspot.

        The wife has a Galaxy S phone.. some friends have an iPhone.. they operate and look a little similar but Galaxy S has more buttons. As far as the icons go, the only one similar is the green phone icon.. A phone handset on a green background.. innovation incarnate.

        I have a HTC Desire HD phone and it looks pretty similar to the GalaxyS in terms of Graphical style and rounded corners. They should be suing HTC too.

        But basically, Samsung should be suing Apple for copying the Galaxy Tab and making the iPad2 closer to it than it's parent.

        ..Or they can just suck it up and get on with competing with each-other so we get awesome devices without lawyers wasting development money and stagnating the market.

        Do Apple seriously want to be the only phone maker in the game? Can they handle the demand? Would they still innovate?

        Mine's the one with the Galaxy Tab in the pocket... which is not to be confused with the coat with the iPad in the pocket, that belongs to Hagrid.

        1. januaryfirst

          Obverse/reverse?

          We're not comparing features but the general look of the device, especially when advertised displaying the screen layout. You can't seriously think there are no clearcut similarities between the two. You can't make the same claim for other Android phones/slates but in this case I can see Apple's point.

      3. scarshapedstar
        Jobs Horns

        Apple stole the iPhone from Samsung

        http://phandroid.com/2011/04/20/did-apple-really-steal-their-iphone-design-from-samsung-pot-meet-kettle/

        This is from a month ago. I thought this story was long dead by now due to Apple's epic hypocrisy fail, but whutevs.

        1. chr0m4t1c

          @scarshapedstar

          Yeah, cos the phandoid site will give a properly balanced view of the matter.

          Particularly as the F700 was announced in Barcelona in February 2007, not at CeBit 2006 as the site alleges. Apple announced the original iPhone in January 2007.

          If you read reviews still dotting about the web, most of them say "looks just like an iPhone" somewhere and the F700 wasn't *that* similar, but I have to say the Galaxy S does seem to be trying to make use of a lot of iPhone styling cues.

          1. scarshapedstar
            Thumb Down

            Missing the point

            Apple says they invented rectangles, rounded corners, and icons arranged in rows.

            F700 has all of these "innovations".

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      It's about the whole, not the parts

      I'm surprised journalists don't understand this issue. Apple has accused Samsung of plagiarism, and the article responds, "Apple apparently want to claims ownership not only of rounded corners".

      If I start a website with articles that only differ from The Register by a few words, and you accuse me of plagiarism, should we say that, "The Register apparently wants to claim ownership of the words 'procedural' and 'victory' "?

      The accusation has nothing to do with discrete elements. You wouldn't be able to make *anything* without echoing something that someone has done before (including writing obviously). Accusations of plagiarism arise (and can be upheld) when it appear that someone has profited substantially from another's effort/creativity/inspiration without acknowledgement or compensation (as appropriate).

      Apple's accusation is that Samsung's design brief was "copy the iPhone/iPad". It's not just a matter of corners - if you don't look closely, you can mistake one for the other. It looks like a knock-off. To my mind, that's plagiarism. But the judge will decide.

  2. Rentaguru
    Paris Hilton

    so a skinny bird

    Is now anorexic©® apple and Nigella Lawson is samsungesque?

    1. nichomach
      Coat

      Well, she's certainly...

      ...a well-rounded icon...

      Ulp.

      Coat...

  3. Jay Jaffa
    Jobs Horns

    Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

    Apple are rapidly declining into farce with this nonsense. They need to get over it and focus on consistenly delivering better and leading-edge product and let their competitors copy to flatter.

    unfortunately, with Jobs at the center of this sort of shyte, they're rotten to the core

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Grenade

      Rotten, indeed

      Yes, rotten to the core, unlike the other party which just copies everything without bringing anything to the table. They're the good guys really. Yes, it's true, up is down, and stealing is flattery.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Flame

        Re: Rotten, indeed

        "Yes, rotten to the core, unlike the other party which just copies everything without bringing anything to the table."

        Such ignorance! Samsung probably brings most of the hardware to the table for Apple products like the iPad, despite claims that the CPU, for instance, is an Apple "design".

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          @AC 10:37

          Wait what?

          Are you saying Samsung designed Apple and Intrinsity's CPU - which uses an ARM licensed Cortex A8 core and PowerVR graphics? (Intrisity is now owned by Apple btw)

          Samsung may have developed the 45nm process to produce it in their fab, but the design is most certainly not theirs. They do have some of their own designs like the Exynos, but Apple's A4 and A5 is not theirs.

          These days Samsung is not even supplying all the built-in RAM for at least new A5 processor, there's both Elpida and Samsung RAM out in those packages.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    There is a saying on the Balkans

    You do not slap your d*ck on the table you eat.

    Apple should not forget who _MAKES_ their chipsets.

    Samsung can play hardball too (and has done so in the past). "A rounded icon corner" is not the cost I would pay for losing the best flash foundry and my primary CPU maker for the gadget in question.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Best?

      How is Samsung the best Flash foundry? Care to explain? As for primary CPU maker, well maybe not for very long... Hello TSMC.

      I'd think Samsung would also think twice before scaring off their 2nd biggest customer. Can't see anyone else in the market for the crazy amounts of flash they buy. But hey might be good news for us now, cheap Samsung SSDs!

  5. slooth
    WTF?

    Rounded Corners

    Surely rounded corners can be classed as prior art? Maybe Apple does not seem to realise this. To jog their memory here is a product from the early 1900's which looks similar to an iPad or an iPhone: (before Apple existed): http://www.antiques-atlas.com/dealer-stock-images/prichardantiques/as209a052b.jpg

    1. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      Fuckwittery...

      Is that tray in any way an icon on a or for a mobile phone operating system? Is it actually a mobile phone disguised as a tray 80 years before they were actually invented? The answers, by the way, are a resounding 'no' to both questions. You, like the other myriad ignorant trolls haven't got a fucking clue what you are talking about. Having a dig at Apple is easy as any fool can do it, admirably illustrated by your good self. The simple fact of the matter is that that Samsung haven't got a leg to stand on. The look and feel of their mobile smart devices is too similar to those of Apple to be coincidental. Prior art, by the way, doesn't mean *anything* that had been though of before. Also, trade dress isn't affected by prior art. Stop regurgitating the bollocks you read on the net without fully understanding what it means.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Flame

        Re: Fuckwittery...

        "Prior art, by the way, doesn't mean *anything* that had been though of before."

        Yes, that's the problem with the "intellectual property" regime: "I was first to paint a car blue, so now everybody who paints their car blue is *copying*! I am so special to think of it first! It doesn't matter if you painted your truck blue or your dog blue or your house blue, I own blue on cars! I'll also say that I own blue on all other things, though, because I call dibs!"

        Thanks for giving this phenomenon a name, even though you seem to like this kind of thing.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          FAIL

          RE: Re: Fuckwittery...

          You are way off. Intellectual property, or as I an many others like to call "work" is valuable. If you don't value other people's efforts and work, then that's a who separate issue. Some of you think design is easy, it isn't. I've had to deal with some of the absolute horrorshows from the sort of people who put quotes around phrases like intellectual property and that clearly think that designing is a matter of launching Photoshop or knowing what AutoCAD is.

          ""I was first to paint a car blue, so now everybody who paints their car blue is *copying*! I am so special to think of it first! It doesn't matter if you painted your truck blue or your dog blue or your house blue, I own blue on cars! I'll also say that I own blue on all other things, though, because I call dibs!"" That's not what apple are saying at all. If you look at the Galaxy next to an iPhone (http://goo.gl/8g5Qx_) you can see just how much Samsung have ripped off Apple. Then compare the screen layouts and the icons (http://goo.gl/lzr6T). Being influenced by is one thing, Samsung have copied. They've got previous too. Anecdotally, I've heard plenty of people in phone shops saying that the Galaxy is an iPhone rip off not long after it was released. The only surprising thing about the case is that it took Apple this long to sue.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Comparing icons

            Can I add to your comparison of icons by pointing out that Samsung slavishly copied the icon for the calculator app. Compate them side by side and you can see that Apple uses an icon that shows buttons with arithmetic functions on them, just as if you are looking at a calculator......and so does does Samsung. And they both use pictures of clocks for the clock function, and a representation of a calender for the calender function and a repesentation of a camera for the camera function.

            I tell ya, its just blatent ripping off from start to finish

            \sarcasm off\

            1. Andus McCoatover

              Why has everyone missed this?

              Surely the patent lawyers will think they'd died and gone to heaven when they realise everyone is copying someone, with the battery state indicator almost invariably at the top right...and (gasp) showing a..a..BATTERY!

              </sarcasm>

    2. Asgard

      There is a very old example of prior art

      @"Surely rounded corners can be classed as prior art"

      I was thinking the same thing. A phone is basically a computer you put in your pocket. So that's basically a modern day tool you put in your pocket and the obvious prior art for that is a Pen knife.

      Virtually all Pen knives (or sometimes called Pocket knives) have rounded edges, otherwise they would damage your clothes and be bloody uncomfortable to carry around. Folding knives have also been around for hundreds of years. (e.g. a Penny knife dates back over 200 years).

      So it is very obvious to have rounded edges on any tool you put in your pocket. In fact its common sense to have rounded edges on anything you put in your pocket. So this legal case is madness.

  6. John Robson Silver badge

    Pixels

    You copied my pixels Waaa WaaaHaaaaa.....

    Amazing - if they'd lifted the graphics then that it one thing, but to assert ownership over a pretty obvious shape, after all my chopping board is that shape.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    end game

    If you compare the two products side by side it's clear which one now has the upper hand in design,

    Apple have reached another apex with their current product set and theonly one way for them is down now.

    Claiming rounded corners and sixteen items on a screen? Bonkers.

  8. borkbork
    WTF?

    hmmm

    "rectangular shape, the rounded corners, the silver edges, the black face"

    Sounds like the old nokia 6233 I have in the drawer here, although not many would describe it as thin.

    1. Miek

      Re: hmmm

      Sounds like my old Samsung Tocco too

      1. Robert E A Harvey

        Balkan Sobranne

        My grandad had a silver cigarette tin, rounded corners, lid printed black, thin enough for a jacket pocket...

  9. Alex Walsh

    It's really true then

    Apple are anticipating the downward spiral to be almost upon them and are grabbing at anything they can to stop it. When you're at the top, the only way to go is eventually down, especially when you have a visionary CEO like Jobs who is no longer well enough to take an active day to day involvement.

    Shame, as I like my iPhone.

  10. forger
    FAIL

    Hmm

    "Good artists copy, great artists steal" - Steve Jobs in 1996 (YouTube have a great video)repeating (should that be copying) Pablo Picasso

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      That's be absolutely bang on...

      if the Galaxy range of devices were in anyway *significantly* better than any other smartphone. They aren't though are they. they're actually average-at-best when compared to the competition.

      1. Miek

        Samsung Galaxy S 2

        Enough said.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          FAIL

          A rip-off...

          of the iPhone 4. It's not *significantly* better either!

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Coffee/keyboard

            Re: "A rip-off of the iPhone 4"

            <quote>It's not *significantly* better either!</quote>

            That's true - it's *MASSIVELY* better. In every way. (You can make phone calls with it for a start!)

  11. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Paris Hilton

    What do they hope to gain?

    Seriously. Except piss off Samsung and manage to have to pay $$$ on patents that previously no-one cared about. This seems just to be a cringeworthy case of a serious outbreak of amour-propre - "It's ours and we have this Beautiful USPTO-Signed Intellectual Property Paper to prove it". It's irrational.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Apple gone mad !

    If Apple get their way, everyone in this world can start suing each other for even thoughts of making anything, such as dvd player/Set tp box or virtally everything, a square shaped ubiquitous box. Or even the humble wristwatch a round shape.

    I dare Apple to sue the Chinese clone makers, now. And see how far they go.

    Rascals.

  13. Simon
    Joke

    Apple

    Haha, rotten to the core!

  14. James Hughes 1

    I normally refrain from Apple bashing

    But to have a court case based on the shape of something that can really only be one shape, is really really taking the piss.

    One does have to wonder if Apple has been taken over internally by patent lawyers, has run out of ideas, or Jobs' mind is going, because some of the things they are getting up to nowadays are completely bonkers.

  15. nigel 15
    Alien

    Star Trek

    They had 'pads' in star trek didn't they?

    they were black and flat and shiny with slightly rounded corners.

    apple are ridiculous and making themselves look more so.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Happy

      star trek pads

      well as i recall star trek data pads from the next generation were indeed thin, and they contained rounded icons that were square or rectangular on the screen which gave access to varying information (yes i know its not real, honest). these icons were movable and programable as i recall. surely given that these props used in the show were covered by whatever copyrights are held for the show then surely the studio should be sueing apple etc for infringment of these things from the show. yes im probably wrong buts its no more rediculous than anything else thats been written!!!!

      1. nigel 15

        it's not more ridiculous no...

        ....it's exactly the same amount of ridiculous.

        although in researching pads from star trek i've discovered that they are called Padds, and they run an OS called LCARS.

        here's a pic http://nigelcoldwell.co.uk/test/padd.jpg if the real world were like perry mason then a samsung lawyer would show that and it would end the case.

      2. The First Dave
        Headmaster

        @star trek pads

        From what I recall, all of the screens on TNG were run by Apple Mac's...

  16. Thomas 18
    Terminator

    Cybernews 2020: Apple too big

    Courts have today ordered the megacorp to split into two subsidiaries, dividing it's core businesses: Computing and Patent Trolling.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What is Apple on about?

    When my customers copy my designs It's a form of flattery and I give them my house keys and let them sleep with my wife, not throw them this legal nonsense!

    In another note I like ElReg a lot so am currently copying the layout for my own site BickeringWiz 3.0, after all what anything else would feel alien to most people here. It's only copying the location of everything, the colours, fonts and maybe some of the stories.

    Should make you all feel at home.

  18. David Dawson
    Jobs Horns

    Product Samples

    Reading the article, it sounds like Apple want the latest and greatest Samsung product, not necessarily the prototypes...

    Can't they just buy them? Can't imagine that would break the Bank of Apple...

    1. Jedit Silver badge
      Jobs Horns

      No, they want the prototypes

      How will Apple be able to sue Samsung because their next-gen phones copy the look and feel of the iPhone 5, if they don't know what Samsung's copies look like before they design it?

      1. David Dawson
        Coat

        Prototypes

        Well, that was my confusion.

        It was the ... "latest iterations" ... bit that got me wondering, since these are products that are either shipping or about to ship (ie, they're finished).

        This really does sound like they want the current product, rather than prototypes.

        So, yeah... doesn't quite follow the headline? Might just be a phrasing thing.

  19. David Dawson
    Flame

    I like

    The way that Samsung in total have gone after Apple in this.

    Apple obviously thought they sue a single Samsung division and the parent company wouldn't react. How wrong.

    I didn't know a 'design patent' even existed before this case. Slightly disturbing.

  20. adnim

    Why don't

    Apple just patent the five senses, with a provisional patent on the sixth sense should it ever be empirically confirmed.

    It would seem that the US patent office would just grant a patent on receipt of submission and fee.

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Love how Apple stories bring out the best comments

    Anyone actually read the actual story a not the Register's typical inflammatory summary? There is a lot more copying than rounded corners here.

    But well why understand the story when you can just click the downvote button and go on with your day feeling smug.

    1. scarshapedstar
      Headmaster

      Begging the question

      "There is a lot more copying than rounded corners here."

      Like what?

      I mean, if you cover up the logos, they still looks pretty damn different.

      Galaxy S has three rectangular buttons, iPhone has one and it's circular. Also, the front of the Samsung is mostly dedicated to the screen, whereas about a third of the iPhone is that black bulkhead stuff; the proportions are unmistakably different. As for 4x4 icons, that's the Android standard and is rather mutable given that anyone can install a custom launcher. The phones look NOTHING alike from the back.

      Only an idiot would confuse the two.

  22. Syren Baran
    Thumb Down

    Completely nuts?

    Lets see.

    One could copy the look of a Lacoste t-shirt with any problems. The logo on the other hand, surely not.

    Apple is different how?

    Or have they just lost faith in their logo?

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Inovation is not smooting off a corner...

    Surely there isn't a lot you can do to differentiate a touch screen phone? They have to a large screen so the basic shape is governed by that, they have to have edges otherwise the bits would fall out, and rounded edges are more practical than sharp ones for a device you are going to hold. As for thinness that's a function of the technology, they are only going to get thinner.

    If Apple had developed a new technology that allowed for thinner screens, smaller batteries, or smaller antenna etc. that would be a valid patent. However Apple don't develop new technology they integrate and adapt existing technology.

    Nothing in any iPhone or iPad is new, touch screen phones existed back in the 90's (Alcatel did one), glossy front and back with rounded metallic edge (Nokia). Video phones were out there before iPhone did 3G, even iOS is basically a shiny front end on good old Unix.

    All great integration and nicely polished to be sure, but not new, not innovative.

    Nothing in any iPhone or iPad is new, touch screen phones existed back in the 90's (Alcatel did one), glossy front and back with rounded metalic edge (Nokia). Video phones were out there befere iPhone did 3G, even iOS is basically a shiny front end on good old Unix.

    All great integration and nicely polished to be sure but not new, not inovative.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Repeating

      You think repeating it twice makes it true?

      Let's try that:

      You think repeating it twice makes it true?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Repeating

        The answers are no and yes respectively.

        However, the commenter has a point, not really recognised by all the foot-stamping downvoters squealing "But it's not *fair*! Apple are best!" presumably before trying to "swipe" a real-world object unsuccessfully for the nth time today.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        FAIL

        re: Let's try that:

        You only repeated it once.

  24. nsld
    Paris Hilton

    I got the new Galaxy S2 yesterday

    And its nothing like an iPhone.

    Its also the cats nuts

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Jobs Halo

    Oooh, look

    Apple fanbois downvoting posts.

    Now there's a novelty.

    1. chr0m4t1c
      Joke

      There'll be lawsuits

      The Fandroids are doing it too, but they have the better legal claim to the process.

  26. digstar

    Galaxy S2 is already a has been

    When I took a look at it, I thought, copy of iphone 4, boring, nothing new here, typical pound shop "Transroboformation" copy of the branded stuff.

    Real shame they don't want to push themselves into doing something new that means they look distinctive.

    Ahh well.

    1. Jedit Silver badge
      FAIL

      "Copy of the iPhone 4"

      Or as non-fanbois like to describe it: a different phone with bigger screen, more memory, faster processor, and greater room for customisation.

  27. MrT

    *It*

    ^^^ There you go, Apple - that thing you've officially lost...

    Now if you could also provide Nokia etc with all the technical prototypes, test data and performance modelling from your own product development (past and future), to prove that you haven't even thought about nicking other more important features of mobile telephony, that'd be nice.

    Not going to happen, is it?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Grenade

      Nokia?!?

      Yeah cause Nokia was really making phones like the iPhone before that came out... oh wait they weren't, they were too busy rolling over for the network operators.

      Get out of your silly little dream.

      1. MrT

        Go Google...

        ..."nokia sues apple for patent infringement" for a laugh before having a cow, man. It's so common that typing the first two words brings that phrase up on the suggestions. Easy, eh?

        It's not the first time teh two companies have had a tit-for-tat in the courts, as anyone who follows this tech will know, but in at least one lawsuit Nokia claims the infringements involve technology used to enhance speech and data transmission, and antenna innovations for compact devices.

        Nothing to do with style, looks or anything superficial, but all to do with the way the basics function. No dreaming involved, silly or otherwise.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Superficial?

          Just the whole way the actual user - you know the one that actually needs and bought the device - uses the system.

          Your way of thinking is why Nokia lost the boat and now is fodder for Microsoft.

          1. MrT

            Yeah, except...

            ... Apple are talking about Samsung copying a design idea ("round corners", etc). Samsung is counter-suing on technical (functional, non-UI) grounds.

            The examples from Nokia are talking about the way the phone functions and connects to the operator network for voice and data. According to the lawsuits, Nokia claims its work is fundamental to the way mobile phones operate - even the iPhone; without it, you can have all the UI you want, but it wouldn't connect to the network. So yes, the UI is superficial to the underlying ability of the phone to deal with cellular networks, accept/make calls, handle data etc. Every mobile phone on the planet has to do that basic stuff.

            Apple didn't invent the mobile phone, just as they didn't invent the MP3 player. Many years before the iPhone, people bought Nokia, Motorola, Samsung and Ericsson/Sony-Ericsson. Even then, style was used to flog stuff - RAZR, for example.

  28. b-a-r-k-i-n-g-m-a-d
    Go

    Maybe...

    Maybe Apple should take some of it's cash mountain and build it's own flash fabrication plants and two fingers up to Samsung.

    1. bertino
      Stop

      The Grate Wall...

      Maybe Apple could use some of its cash pile to build a big wall around the US, and they can stay one side of it and do what they like, whilst the rest of the world gets on with innovation.

  29. asdf
    FAIL

    no way you say

    An Asian company apeing a market leader. Are you sure? That doesn't sound like usual form.

  30. Homer 1
    Jobs Horns

    Is "look and feel" even actionable?

    Even if it weren't the case that Apple ironically "stole" from Samsung first, not the other way round, how in God's name did we get to the point that people can be sued for having products that "look similar"?

    My arse looks similar to Roy "Chubby" Browns. Should he sue me?

    (Shakes head in disbelief)

  31. Jaemon
    FAIL

    How about you try to consider COPYRIGHT

    "Be forewarned, tablet designers. Apple apparently want to claims ownership not only of rounded corners and rectangular shapes, but also of thinness. ®"

    Apple is not suing samsung for rounded corners or regtangular shape....

    Apple is suing Samsung cause Samsung used THE EXACT SAME rounded corners and regtangular shape that Apple used in the iPad and iPhone and that violates copyright law.

    Furthermore "prior art" only have any meaning in PATENT cases NOT COPYRIGHT cases so how about that thread of comments try and learn somthing about the difference between the two...

    Additionally no that suckey image of the old samsung phone does not prove anything except that the imbicile that made it dont understand copyright... (and its been debunked many times as the samsung thingie did not appear before the iPhone, it was anounced but with out image or demonstration of actual product.. (sorry copyright law dont cover things you say you will do only at some point in the future only what you do/publish/create).

    And even IF that samsung thingie was released earlier than the iPhone it is so different in the actual design features that the copyright that Samsung have for that phone does not cover the iPhone.

    And yes patent trolls are a scurge on the planet but as Apple actually MAKES stuff it is by definition not a patent troll.

    most obliged

    J

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: COPYRIGHT (it's in caps, so it must be important!)

      This isn't a copyright case. It's about "trademarks, trade dress, and utility and design patents" (from the case file).

      Secondly, a patent is only valid when it is non-obvious and has no prior art. Rounded corners on something pocket-based/hand-held are both obvious and possessing prior art. An array of icons, again obvious and prior. Rounded corners on icons? RSS had that years ago. The overall combination of those given elements is both obvious and necessary.

      I doubt Apple will win this one - will be fun to watch though, especially if the iPhone 5 has a bump on the back so you can hear a rear-mounted sounder when it's on a table...

  32. Anonymous Coward
    Jobs Halo

    Apple, wasn't that the Beatles Company?

    And Apple never copied anything? Their logo looks incredibly 70s Beatles Apple Corps ish! Same name too. And didn't the Beatles (THE ORIGINAL APPLE) have a long running ban on doing business with Apple. Pot. Kettle. Black!

  33. N13L5
    Megaphone

    a non-ridiculous post ;-)

    This is directed at Samsung:

    Look, Samsung, I'm buying other products because I don't like Apple's phones, and I don't like Apple.

    When I decided to buy your Samsung Galaxy S2, I bought it for superior specs and the S-Amoled screen.

    One drawback was that the front looks too much like an iPhone. Design wise, I would have preferred HTC's type of case design, or something using carbon or magnesium alloy for a case.

    But because your phone spec is the best available at the moment, I decided to put up with your plastik case and Apple'ish front.

    Its really not hard to improve on that: less blank space, more screen would be one thing. And this thinness competition is also annoying. I'd prefer a phone thats a little thicker, but the surface mostly ends at the edge of the screen, as much as technically feasable.

    Another thing: The Armani version of the Galaxy S1 was a really nice design. Wouldn't it be cheaper to get Armani to design the S2 than fighting Apple and probably loosing business in the process, by copying Apple's look?

    Of course, Apple is only using Bauhaus design school elements, copied from some old, famous designer who used to design products for Braun, sometime in the last century, now lost to memory.

    Apple is doing the equivalent of playing music they adapted from a old composer like Beethoven, that's in the public domain, and then they go suing people for their own "Intellectual Plagiarism" or what, re-imagining?

  34. Pine Tone
    Meh

    Apple seem on shakey ground

    Just wanted to see what all the fuss was about so took a look at this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HODhXCfcf4c , seems to me that the two phones arn't exact copies, I would say the case design is not at all similar (baring in mind theres only so many ways one could design a touch screen smart phone). The interface look is somewhat similar though (interesting to compar to F700 earlier model see: http://phandroid.com/2011/04/20/did-apple-really-steal-their-iphone-design-from-samsung-pot-meet-kettle/ ). I personally have an iphone, although it's only the 3g It was a massive step forward at the time from what I previously had and although Apple werent the first to come up with most of the technology (see LG Prada) they did integrate it together well I thought. Still, I think this litigation thing is getting out of hand, Apple have been rewarded for there innovation through massive sales of the iphone and although I dont know the legal case for some of the design features Samsung claimed to have copied, I personally beleive that when designing certain products, some design choices are obvious e.g. round corners. By setting out that you have 'invented' round corners or certain design features, when they would have inneviatbly been used anyway is just try to monopolise ideas which I feel Apple are getting a reputation for doing. In my view IP Laws should be there to encourage innovation not a vehicle for companies to try and ring fence obvious ideas in aid to useing them as a cash cow. In conclusion Apple = a number of good innovations that has changed the smartphone market, pointless litigation by Apple = bad!

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