Update 1: Samsung has responded to this suit from Apple, via TNW:
Speaking to Yonhap News, Samsung spokesman Chung Jae-woong responded to Apple’s complaints:
“We think Apple has violated our patents in communications standards. We are considering a counterclaim.â€
Apple has filed a suit against Samsung, alleging the South Korean conglomerate has copied iPhone and iPad designs with their Galaxy line up. Here’s what Apple had to say, reaching out to Mobilized:
“It’s 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,†an Apple representative told Mobilized. “This kind of blatant copying is wrong, and we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.â€
All I can think of is the old saying, ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.’ Apple has also alleged Saumsung has infringed on the ‘trade dress’ of the iPhone, noting similar design characteristics as rounded corners and icon layouts.
“Samsung’s Galaxy Tab computer tablet also slavishly copies a combination of several elements of the Apple Product Configuration Trade Dress,â€
Take a look at the following image Apple provided in their suit, and tell me what you think:
Is Samsung guilty of ripping off Apple?
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Interesting, as Samsung manufactures a lot of parts (like the A4 and A5 Chips) for Apple.
Of course they copied. There’s a thousand ways to represent a the front-end of an operating system but there’s uses the same form factor.
Samsung’s consumer handset and Samsung’s OEM divisions are separate business units with different motivations.
All tech companies are guilty of releasing clones since 2008 which features all-touch functionalities. All of them are guilty 100%.
Myself, have an Android phone (Samsung Captivate) and it’s running fine. But it is definitely a clone, copied to every inch.
Then again, plagiarism occurs everywhere in every industry. Every body is ripping off every body.
Someone once told me: “Don’t worry about someone stealing your idea, that will always happen. Worry about them implementing it better.”
It’s just the latest volley in the smart phone wars – nothing personal.
Probably just end up shaking hands and continuing their partnerships with the A4 and A5 cpu’s
what the hell is a galaxy?
Let Apple cry a bit. Can’t wait for the 10.1 tab to be released!
This is absolute BS. I’m an apple fan but apple has used other people’s stuff in the past. For example, the core Apple software – Mac OS– comes from BSD. It is developed and distributed by the Computer Systems Research Group (CSRG) of the University of California. Whole thing is open-source. Safari is nothing but a fork of the Desktop environment for GnuLinux KDE’s KHTML and Webkit. And finally The touch technology was invented and developed by FingerWorks and University of Toronto’s Bill Buxton, not apple!
If the two products look similar, it’s only because that look and functionality works. They are not copying the code, or the hardware.
Toyota can’t sue Honda for making a car with 4 wheel and a stereo system, just because the shape of the car, 4 wheels and even the packaging LOOKS the same to the USER!!!! Come on, grow up Apple!
“Good Artists Copy, Great Artists Steal” – Steve Jobs 1996 (original quote by Pablo Picaso).
Karma is a biatch, ain’t it Steve? Oh the irony 😉
what the F is galaxy?
Samsung’s line up of phone and tablet offerings. ie Galaxy Tab, Galaxy S, etc.
The stars, planets, etc
(lol)
From Wikipedia: A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter.
From Samsung: an iPhone 3GS
LOL
The Captivate looks no more like an iphone then the majority of the rest of the other smart phones. I own both.
Your nuts saying every inch is copied.
The Captivate looks no more like an iphone then the majority of the rest of the other smart phones. I own both.
Your nuts saying every inch is copied.
apple butthurt?
Oh what I do mean in the above statement is that Apple created all-touchscreen phones. I don’t think there was any others before the iPhone, was there?
A lot of tech companies were laughing at them back in 2007, including Microsoft. And now, hypocritically all those companies have iPhone ripoffs.
You’re missing the point about the cars. All cars have 4 wheels and a stereo with the same general shape just like all phones have a speaker, volume buttons and a screen. Bad example.
Toyota CAN sue Honda if Honda makes a car that looks like a Corolla if they feel that Honda benefited from Toyota’s design which they own all the rights to. They’ll probably end up settling out of court to lessen the PR damages, but they have grounds to sue.
And if you ran a multi-billion dollar tech company, you WILL sue for stupid things like that. TRUST ME!
Really, these tech companies (and, most notably, Apple) need to spend less time suing each other over perceived infringements and more time being truly innovative and producing products real consumers can afford.
Besides, Apple should be the very last to complain – if it wasn’t for some fairly significant, ahem, reverse engineering as ‘borrowed’ from IBM’s PARC all those years ago, the Mac would still be a text-based computer…
With a quick search I found the IBM Simon made in 1992. Supposedly the first touch screen phone. search for some pictures of it if your interested. Pretty cool considering its almost 20 years old.
I don’t really care who was the first company to make one. With so many manufacturers making smart phones
Galaxy phones should be one of the last company (last would be windows phones) apple should worry abt. I agree with Parsa B.