According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Apple is more than a little unhappy with the design of some of Samsung’s leading smartphones (Galaxy S 4G, Epic 4G, Nexus S), as well as the Galaxy Tab touchscreen tablet.
In fact, Apple’s disgruntlement was so acute that it led them to file a 38-page lawsuit in the Northern District of California on Friday, alleging that the design of these popular devices violated Apple’s intellectual property. Apple’s action against Samsung includes trademark infringement claims, as well as a plethora of patent claims.
The lawsuit said: “Rather than innovate and develop its own technology and a unique Samsung style for its smartphone products and computer tablets, Samsung chose to copy Apple’s technology, user interface and innovative style in these infringing products.”
Although each company’s devices uses different operating systems, the lawsuit revolves around issues such as the similarity of the icons between the various devices – a look which, according to the lawsuit, was apparently not always so: “Even the icons in earlier versions of the Samsung smartphones looked different because they had a variety of shapes and did not appear as a field of square icons with rounded corners,” it said.
Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said in a statement: “This kind of blatant copying is wrong.” According to Reuters, Samsung representative Kim Titus said in an email that the company intended to protect its intellectual property and that they would “actively” respond to the lawsuit. “Samsung’s development of core technologies and strengthening our intellectual property portfolio are keys to our continued success,” Titus’s email stated.
A particularly interesting part of this legal action centers on the fact that Apple devices incorporate a number of components made by none other than Samsung. And even as recently as February it was being reported that Apple would be spending a whopping $7.8 billion on Samsung parts. It seems that Apple would prefer it if Samsung stuck to making components rather than complete devices.
The lawsuit is the latest in an ever increasing number of such actions; Nokia sued Apple in May 2010 over various patents; Apple sued HTC in a couple of months prior to that, and now they’re gunning for Samsung. Expect plenty of tit-for-tat lawsuits to continue to fly for the foreseeable future.
This latest lawsuit could be seen by some as a sign that Apple is feeling the heat in the battle for smartphone/tablet supremacy, with Samsung’s offerings proving ever popular with consumers.
apple is losing and suing everyone… i guess they try to be cool and hip
It's not that Apple is "stooping low", But Apple is trying to secure it's own innovations, As a non apple user, I must say that Apple has a great lead in the mobile device world, not to mention a very large market share !! Apple's mobile devices are far from being that "perfect device" but there rightfully on the right track, With other manufactures noticing the trends and how Apple has done such a great job in the field of touch, application integration, and sleek designs (although only 2 in the tablet world) it set them as pioneers in the mobile device world, I believe Apple will loose this battle and they Know it, To them it's a matter of holding (capitalizing) a beautiful entry to a new tech era, Picture this: Apple vs Pc , remember those days :) . It sadly was not Windows vs Apple (Software), as most would like to believe but a battle of hardware, and manufactures would have a field day (as they are) what is the biggest complaint of a apple user, "I wish apple would have put a ______on this device " or "Is the next version going to have a ______" With a manufactures fighting with other "non Apple" manufactures there going to try to add the most to there devices cameras, mic's, usb, memory, androids "open" platform, etc…. to take advantage of the new "innovation" in mobile devices pioneered by Apple and that rightfully scares the crap out of apple, Now Apple's devices tho limited in numbers will once again be up against dozens upon dozens of devices with more "options" than those provided by Apple, So Apple will try to put a hold on the next/1st real competitor which happens to be Samsung
Thanks For Reading
Jay Sholes
Screw Apple they are just pissed Samsung is delivering a killer product at a better price point. From a galaxy S user.
apple is losing and suing everyone… i guess they try to be cool and hip
Kodak is suing RIM and Apple. Microsoft is suing Barnes & Noble. Nokia is suing Apple. Again. Ericsson is suing ZTE. Apple is suing Samsung. It may sound ridiculous, but if you don’t protect your patents, you lose them. Next week: Someone will be suing someone else.
Kodak is suing RIM and Apple. Microsoft is suing Barnes & Noble. Nokia is suing Apple. Again. Ericsson is suing ZTE. Apple is suing Samsung. It may sound ridiculous, but if you don’t protect your patents, you lose them. Next week: Someone will be suing someone else.
I got the Motorola Xoom and so far… my friends with their iPads are murderous jealous :D
Them and their shitty products… they can sue Samsung for also releasing laptops… They do look like their Mac laptops!!! Or sue Dell for the keyboards they manufacture, it looks like their ass white keyboards!!
Apple can go die… them and their monopoly of how one uses their shitty products
An Asian electronic company copying or mimicking a competitor’s shit. Get out!
Wow. I can't believe Apple would stoop as low as to sue someone for that. If anything, they should be flattered. All it means is that their product is so unique and innovative that everyone else is simply jealous. This is just a little childish..
Crapple is bluffing. These so called "patents" rarely hold up in court – apple has no engineers and very few educated people. They usually see another company like Nokia, Sony, HP, Samsung, Google or a startup show off some conceptual technology at an Expo event and quickly write up a patent on it claiming it as their own. It is usually something extremely rudimentary and obvious. Coming up next: Apple's patent on the "Wheel".
The a5 chip is samsung. I think apple needs to watch where they pick their battles. Apple might have a nice os, but the tech in Their products are the competitors’ parts. Without the a5, the iPad is way behind the other tablets.
Dang, just when I was thinking of getting a Galaxy Tab due to its memory expansion and USB support and greater portability, and integral GPS for golf apps.
Dang, just when I was thinking of getting a Galaxy Tab due to its memory expansion and USB support and greater portability, and integral GPS for golf apps.