Posts by hjb

There are some interesting details in Samsung's Trial Brief.

On page 4&5, it says

"In order to distract from the weakness of its infringement claims, Apple offers misguided allegations of copying that are refuted by evidence of Samsung‘s independent creation. Prior to the iPhone‘s announcement in January 2007, Samsung was already developing numerous products and models with the same design features that Apple now claims were copied from the iPhone. In the summer of 2006, Samsung began designing its next generation of mobile phones, based on the market trend of ever-increasing screen size. At that time, Samsung‘s designers envisioned a basic design: a simple, rounded rectangular body dominated by a display screen with a single physical button on the face. For example, internal Samsung design presentations from the summer of 2006 showed the following designs Samsung was considering:

Id. One of these designs became the Samsung F700 phone, which was the subject of a Korean design registration application in December 2006, a month before Apple unveiled the iPhone. Tellingly, Apple at first included Samsung‘s F700 in its indiscriminant ―copying allegations, but later withdrew its infringement charges once Samsung‘s prior independent creation left Apple no choice but to concede that its copying accusations against that device were false....

Also during this time period during the Summer and Fall of 2006, Samsung designers envisioned a simple icon interface, with rounded rectangular icons arranged in a grid format, appropriately spaced for the size of the screen and the human hand. As one example, an internal Samsung design presentation dated September 14, 2006 showed the following GUI layouts and adjustable orientations:...

As these documents confirm, Samsung independently developed the allegedly copied design features months before Apple had even announced the iPhone. It did not switch its design direction because of the iPhone. Contrary to Apple‘s cherry-picked ―pre and ―post iPhone choices of Samsung‘s phones, Samsung designed and developed large screen smartphones before the iPhone—as well as bar type phones, sliders, and folder phones. Samsung continued to do so after the iPhone as well"

On page 16, it says

"Unlike Apple, which was not a participant in the mobile communications industry until it released the first iPhone in mid-2007, Samsung began developing mobile communications technology in 1991. Samsung has since invested billions of dollars in developing the backbone of the industry and the wireless standards necessary for smartphones. Between 2005 and 2010 alone, Samsung invested $35 billion in research and development relating to telecommunications technology, with over 20,000 engineers worldwide dedicated to telecommunications research and development.

Apple relied heavily on Samsung‘s technology to enter the telecommunications space, and it continues to use Samsung‘s technology to this day in its iPhone and iPad products. For example, Samsung supplies the flash memory, main memory, and application processor for the iPhone. Samsung also manufactures Apple‘s A5X processor and is the sole supplier of the Retina display used in the new iPad. But Apple also uses patented Samsung technology that it has not paid for. This includes standards-essential technology required for Apple‘s products to interact with products from other manufacturers, and several device features that Samsung developed for use in its products."

We all hear what Apple is saying all over the medias, but not Samsung. Now, take a look at the Samsung's Trial Brief, there are quite interesting details.