This is Why Apple is Suing Samsung
If you want a simplified explanation of the ongoing Apple vs Samsung lawsuit, the giant image below sums it up fairly well. Basically, Apple feels that Samsung is infringing on a variety of iPhone and iPad patents, and Apple is fairly blunt in their accusations:
“Instead of pursuing independent product development, Samsung has chosen to slavishly copy Apple’s innovative technology, distinctive user interfaces, and elegant and distinctive product and packaging design, in violation of Apple’s valuable intellectual property rights.”
Several examples of these alleged violations can be seen in the image below, judge for yourself:
The “inspiration” is really quite obvious, but whether or not it’s enough for Apple to win a lawsuit against Samsung (or others) remains to be seen. This image was found by DaringFireball, and if you’re looking for a detailed explanation on the whole lawsuit, read this lengthy piece on This Is My Next, which is where the topmost quote from Apple came originated too.
This looks ridiculous but here’s the thing: think about the standard telephone, the shape of a laptop, the form of a car, the form of a cup, the doors on a refrigerator, think about ANYTHING and you’ll realize someone invented it and everyone else borrowed it. Everyone could sue everyone if this kind of thing was patentable and enforceable, and all innovation would cease because there would be no more market incentive. Think about that, and this is why Apple will lose the case. Also I think that Apple is tiptoeing around other issues, but it bothers me that they are suing one of their major suppliers for components, because what if they pulled the plug!
Would agree but for one fundamental mistake – innovation is NOT encouraged by being ripped off – innovation is encouraged by the confidence that someone isn’t going to rip you off as soon as you invest some time and money into something. I’m normally not a defender of litigants but this is quite different … Samsung is _blantantly_ ripping Apple off left right and centre. It’s so easy to take pot-shots at Goliath, but in this instance, Goliath is right, imho. It is a shame that smaller innovators don’t have the money to defend themselves like Apple has. Samsung should be big enough to establish its own brand and look & feel. Their stuff is just a lazy rip-off, if admittedly well executed.
Have to agree with Merefield. Innovation is encouraged when people are not allowed to just copy the best sellers, because it forces them to come up with new ideas. If everyone pursued this type of “innovation” like Samsung, what a boring market it would be.
Innovation should be for the betterment of society “and Not just only to make more money and spend again only to make more money, rather than for better causes”. And either way, if a customer has only an eye for, what is shown rather than what it delivers, then Yes, Apple has a point in banging for the Parental Copyright. ( I spelled it correct, PARENT, since both words seems to have same meaning, only the one who has gave birth to, has the whole right to do anything with it.).
Grow Apple, you were a small company few years back and remember how you had to stop the fight with Microsoft? When money is in abundance, Greed too piles along.
Well I wonder why Apple gets components for their IP4 from Samsung if Apple is so damn innovative?? Kinds of puzzle and screw your brains including slapping your own cheek!
Here is an even better picture: http://osxdaily.com/2011/08/18/tablet-design-before-after-the-ipad/ Notice that Samsung even copied the sky-above-water-below background theme.
Mimicry is only considered innovation in genetics. It could be argued that tablet innovation ceased when Apple introduced the iPad. The designers of the Galaxy Tablets reminds me of the people that kept asking to borrow my class notes, and wanted to look over my shoulder during final exams.
Yes. Cars have a general shape. But you can’t copy Ferrari’s distinctive design patented car design. Ferrari will sue you if you did and it would win.
There are many possible alternative tablet designs. Why does Samsung slavishly copy Apple when it could have done its own design??? That is the crux of the lawsuit.
Sony did its own tablet design. Why can’t Korean companies innovate like the Japanese?
Hmm, as a passing by Korean, I feel discriminated.
Why can’t you phrase it as, “Why can’t Samsung innovate like Sony?” instead of pulling the whole nation into _your_ opinion.
Whoever made that image, shows his/her ignorance. The samsung sync cable is a PDMI.
What’s your point exactly, Sherlock? Because they have a PDMI cable, they couldn’t possibly be copying?
Ummm I don’t that’s the point, the point is that, Samsung purposely had their PDMI cable look exactly like Apple”s cable.
I also noticed that the GS shown in this website is actually 15% smaller (I have the two phones in my hand, and GS is definitely much bigger (taller) than iPhone).
Also, the thickness of GS here seems exaggerated.
While I love my MacBook, I also love my GSII.
IMHO, companies try to come up with best solutions for ergonomics, easy-to-use-UI, etc. and through a “natural selection,” that is, by getting rid of hard-to-use UI and ergonomics (design), both companies could have ended up with a similar design.
I mean, I can’t imagine myself using something triangular lol
You want, You find!
Where’s the innovation?
Full of China sh*t flooding the Asian market before the iPhone, similar pic crap.
Well then stop buying China made goods including IP4 you dumb boy since its made in China if you didn’t know
Check this out.
http://blog.danawa.com/prod/?blogSection=2&cate_c1=862&cate_c2=886&cate_c3=1035&cate_c4=0&depth=3&prod_c=1469433
It’s a USB HUB that looks like Magic Mouse.
But it isn’t a mouse.
If I was a judge I would find Samsung guilty of copying Apples ideas and ban Samsung products from going on sale. Case closed.
If that is if so go on being a puberty boy for all we care
Samsung is screwed, and they know it. I hope Apple refuses any concessions, and Samsung is forced to halt sales of that obvious copy. THAT’S WHAT PATENTS ARE FOR!
There is no sense for all this thread! It is funny to show the box size, screen style, and USB plug to say Samsung copies iPhone!!! In that sense, Airbus has also copied Boing planes as they both have wings and very similar shape. Same for other products such as cars, food mixers, ..etc. When people optimize something even independently, they usually reach to very similar solutions.
There is in fact a legal principle that says that how you brand an item—packaging and marketing, etc.—can also represent infringement if it’s too close to a competitor’s product. When you look at the preponderance of what Samsung has done, even copying the basic style of a number of iOS icons, it’s hard to doubt that Samsung wasn’t completely above board and “innocently” happened to stumble on the same choices that Apple made. (Again, sometimes it’s not any one thing, but when dozens of details are similar, you start losing the credibility argument.)
Patents only last 17 years or so. I don’t believe that wings was a patentable idea, but the system of flaps and rudders that the Wright Brothers came up with….
One hundred years later both Boeing and Airbus patent different parts of their design, but the basic patents have all expired.
Planes are engineered, they can’t just change it’s design at will can they? Mobile phones or gadgets are different so stop comparing cars, planes with gadgets. It all boils down to ideas for a gadget design.
Couldn’t agree more … Well said
Apple???
And why Apple is not suing China?
Choose 1 or more:
1 . Bilions of Buyers
2 . Nobody plays with the Comunist (Capitalist) Party
Cause Apple is made in China duh!!! Can’t sue your own backyard can you??
I’m struck how vehement your case is, even making derogatory subtexts. I find with Apple worshippers that they adapt the same attitude to every tech or non apple person (distain and anger.) Steve Jobs fostered this attitude and built the biggest tech company on the earth.
My point is this, the patent wars are from ALL directions. Seems ALL the tech players copied from each other and are now trying to get the high ground in technology. It’s a very ugly business, but just business, with new technology. I revere Apple for its huge additions to the tech world, I just hate the fall out of the attitudes of the “Apple Heads” picked up from Steve Jobs (one of the centuries most talented marketers).
Personally i really like Apples stuff. It’s not how they look, it’s the feeling of beeing completed. I have an iPhone myself, and at work i use an Android. They are capable of doing the very same tasks, the android is even more flexible with it’s widgets and stuff. But there is one thing missing. The feeling of completion. The OS is not that intuitive, functions are spread all over the menus, you have to search before you find some of the functions you’re looking for.
To use a car metaphor, how fancy is a car that looks like a Mercedes but feels like an old Volvo?
And i guess this is the biggest problem for Samsung. If they didn’t copy Apples stuff, people would not compare them in the same way. The Samsung phones and tables could be really great, but i can’t stop comparing them to the iPhone and iPad, and that’s not what you get.
If they made a new look and feel i would actually be intrested in buying one, but now it just feels like a poor copy. Like a windows 95 machine with a flashy windows 7 wallpaper, the look isn’t everything.
Well, that was pretty much off topic, but my concusion is: I understand why Apple want’s to sue them, but i don’t think it’s needed. When the iPad wave is over and people start to know a little bit more about tablets they won’t buy it just because it looks the same. Apple people wants apples stuff because they work great together and have a unified look and feel and you feel at home from the beginning.
That is where the competitors, so far, are way behind.
PS. Sorry my bad english!! DS.
It’s sad that so many resources are waisted because companies have to compete like this. All inventions these days are built off the back of prior inventions. If our system were different, we could focus on working together to produce the best and longest lasting smart phones, rather than copying features, and waisting resources, just to get a share of the market. I know what I’m saying is blasphemy in a capitalist economy, but just thought I’d throw in my 2cents.
It’s all about the money.
Work with Samsung for 4 years. They are just what they are. They will do whatever they can to get ahead. The end justifies the mean. I’m not surprise at all if they’re copying apple. They’ve done it with their manufacturing equipment, equipment software and many others… hardly an innovation at all…
JUST SHOWS KOREANS HAVE NO TALENT–THEY HAVE NO BRAINS FOR ORIGINALITY, THEY HAVE NO TECHNOLOGY LIKE GERMANS/JAPANESE/APPLE–WHAT THEY ARE GOOD AT IS COPYING DESIGNS–KOREAN PRODUCTS ARE ALL DISPOSABLE–CARS, PHONES, TVS, APPLIANCES–ONLY GOOD FOR 2 YEARS AND THEY CONK OUT!
this is bull there two different companies and there products are nothing alic
If there was only one similarity there would be space for arguing. However, you take all those examples together and no one can deny what Samsung was trying to do.
Photoshopped (or other software) images to make things look even more similar is only going to hurt Apple’s cause.
Look at the first image and how the phones are, supposedly, the same height… Now look at the last image. The Samsung phone is not the same size.
Apple tried the same thing in their lawsuit with the tablet whereby they stretched the aspect ratio to more closely resemble the iPads.
I’m not saying there isn’t some copying, but when you alter things to fit your argument you’re only hurting your cause
This just another chapter in Apple’s continuing saga of suing people for stuff they did not invent.
The moron’s who buy Apple’s proprietary stuff think they are chic and getting something “way cool” and works of art.
Their products are just varying forms of computers using IC’s CPU’s and OS’s they buy like anyone else and integrate.
They then customize the interface to make it look like it’s special for the computer illiterates who buy them.
They tried to sue MS for using “Windows” when Xerox invented the concept and lost.
Tablet computer’s have been functioning in the industrial and aerospace world since the 80′s, but most people aren’t aware even of the highly sophisticated devices that UPS drivers have been using since the 90′s.
Microsoft had their go at it in the early 2000′s.
They will lose, but there ignorant user base will cheer them on and continue to overpay and get buffaloed.
Oh I forgot: VW is German! Mercedes and BMW are German, too. And I know how much Americans love those cars, and even have one for their own. Do you know how many Germans drive American cars? Almost nobody
And that’s not even just in Germany. You find almost no American cars outside of the US…..