Apr 19, 2011

Apple Sues Samsung... Next?!

Posted Apr 19, 2011

You may want to hate this:

"When a Samsung Galaxy phone is used in public, there can be little doubt that it would be viewed as an Apple product based upon the design alone,"

The above line is part of the Apple's lawsuit against Samsung. I was reading articles regarding the lawsuit and I smirked when I read that particular statement. Here's another statement from the lawsuit:

"Rather than innovate and develop its own technology and a unique Samsung style for its smart phone products and computer tablets, Samsung chose to copy Apple's technology, user interface and innovative style in these infringing products."

When I first saw a Samsung Galaxy Phone, I certainly did not mistakenly think that it's an iPhone, even more so when I actually used it. Neither does Galaxy Tab look like an iPad, but even if it does, how would you make it look different? Maybe shape it like a triangle, duh! What about the touch interface from Android? They should develop an interface similar to Microsoft's Kinect so users won't have to touch the device to interact with it.

I find this move hypocritical since they themselves copied product designs and innovations for their product line. And to think Apple products use Samsung components, I wonder how this legal battle will affect their relationship.

Samsung's reply to the allegation:

"Samsung’s development of core technologies and strengthening our intellectual property portfolio are keys to our continued success. Samsung will respond actively to this legal action taken against us through appropriate legal measures to protect our intellectual property,"

On a similar note, Apple also sued HTC and Motorola for the similar reasons of patent violation. Is this business bullying some kind of disease? Is Apple really that affected by Google's Android to the point that it throws out lawsuits to everyone who's related to it? They arguably made the touch screen, the "smart" phone, and the tab very famous but they shouldn't act as if they invented them.

Many articles said this lawsuit spree is reminiscent of the battle for Graphical User Interface (GUI) among Apple, Microsoft and Xerox back in the late 80's. It's also interesting to read about the history of GUI and what happened in the battle for its ownership.


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