Samsung Says to Apple: We Demand to See Your Private Parts

…from the iPhone 5 and iPad 3, of course. What else were you thinking? 😉

Apple sued Samsung earlier over their Galaxy line of tablets and phones, claiming it copied the iPhone and iPad.

As the lawsuit went on, Samsung was forced to hand over their future prototypes to Apple lawyers for inspection. Now, Samsung is playing hardball and demanding the same from Apple–they want to see the ‘final’ versions of iPhone 5 and iPad 3, according to coverage from This is My Next’s Nilay Patel.

Samsung’s asking for a court order requiring Apple to produce “the final, commercial versions” of the next-generation iPhone and iPad and their respective packaging by June 13, 2011, so it can evaluate whether there’ll be confusion between Samsung and Apple’s future products. If the final versions aren’t available, Samsung wants “the most current version of each to be produced instead.”

Now, here’s the funny part. Samsung’s prototypes revealed to Apple’s lawyers were products already announced, or known about. But, as everybody knows with Apple, they never announce anything or speculate on rumours regarding future product launches–so how can they show anything to Samsung?

The Korean conglomerate insists it has to view the next iteration of these products, but thanks to Apple’s iron-clad secrecy, Samsung can only go on the rumours of upcoming products talked about on the Internet.

Why is Samsung pursuing this? Patel’s analysis:

I think it’s a calculated gamble for additional leverage. Apple and Samsung held negotiations for a year before giving up and heading to the courts, and I’m reliably informed that there haven’t been any substantive settlement discussions since Apple first filed its complaint. That means talks have been at a standstill for a long time now, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Samsung was trying to put some additional heat on Apple to try and kick negotiations back into gear. It’s an interesting and aggressive move in its own right, but it also highlights the fact that neither Apple nor Samsung have addressed the actual merits of their complaints in formal replies — this is a minor skirmish before the real battle begins.

You have got to love the head-to-head legal battle these two companies are engaging in on the sidelines, while they continue to have a fruitful symbiotic business relationship. I don’t think anything will be revealed to Samsung because according to Apple–there’s ‘nothing to show’.

[This is my Next]