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The Apple legal onslaught continues as the iPad maker files suit against Samsung in the UK. The case was brought before the High Court on Monday. Apple claims its case is a counter-claim to a Samsung case originally filed back in June, but no details on that case are known. This move bring the total number of patent cases between the two tech firms to about 20 worldwide.
Apple holds that Samsung tablets and smartphone devices infringe on Apple patents and trade dress (i.e. physical appearance). In a case that is playing out in Germany, Apple has won a partial ban on the Samsung Galaxy tab 10.1, and a Dutch decision is forcing Samsung to make a change to its phone software.
The UK is one of Europe’s largest tech markets, so a ban on Samsung devices there could be troublesome. Do you think Apple will secure an injunction against Samsung products in the UK?
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acidic
September 15, 2011 at 10:59am
im going to pull an apple and patent the letter "a". that way ill be able to sue anyone that uses it in any word. i think ill also patent all the colors and shapes known to man. maybe even everything that uses any source of power. maybe then id develop a braindead, brainwashed, hippy cult following, i mean a fanbase or iFANBASE. i should probably edit this post before the try and sue me for putting a lowercase i infront of a word
Engelsstaub
September 15, 2011 at 12:10pm
Someone should sue you for lack of punctuation, capitalization, or coherence.
acidic
September 15, 2011 at 1:16pm
need i say more? spoken like a true apple fanboy. lets sue everyone. no reason to get all butt hurt. your parents should have taught you that the truth hurts ALOT sometimes
bling581
September 15, 2011 at 9:45am
This is getting to be a bit much. I didn't know you could patent a "look". Aren't all tablets rectangular shaped in design? With all the tablets out there it'd be impossible to not design a tablet that looks like one from another company. I don't see anyone else crying.
h e x e n
September 15, 2011 at 4:55am
What? Someone else is making a product that's also a complete waste of resources? Oh no! We must sue to get our rights to totally non needed techno crap back!
Muster up the lawyers and suits
We are a company backed by a fruit!
We cannot lose, nor shall we fall
From making shit hardware for all!
We dont quite understand you see
Why people buy our tablets over laptops and PC's
They're far inferior products, but the hell with that
People seem to love our useless crap
So don't you dare make one or we'll stamp our feet
And act like little whiney children who think they're l33t
We have tons of fanboys who do anything we ask
As long as it's white, they'll eat jam out of our ass!
Engelsstaub
September 15, 2011 at 4:46am
The Samsung Galaxy Tab looks almost exactly like the iPad. Samsung is going to get sued until they decide to stop blatantly copying someone else's successful designs. This is no conspiracy...it's just business as usual.
Apple's not suing makers of other tablets, are they?
Are you sure it's just a partial ban in Germany? The news seems to indicate that the German court ruled decisively and entirely in Apple's favor. (There's that Fox News-effect at MPC again.) It won't be different anywhere else. You know why? Because the Galaxy Tab infringes on Apple's patents. Pretty simple, really. It's not even the point that it doesn't even pose a threat in sales, which it doesn't. It's just a blatant copy.
Caboose
September 15, 2011 at 8:38am
It’s a rectangular shaped tablet, with a black bezel, rounded corners, and a metal back, which has a nice silver boarder extending up to the black bezel.
Ok, so shape and colour. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 doesn't have a single button on the side... err... bottom of the tablet.
The iPad 2 has a grey/brushed steel back, so the "silver" border around the black bezel is a little softer than the Galaxy Tab 10.1.
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 has 3 optical sensors on the front, the iPad 2 I believe has a single camera (as far as I can tell, I've not noticed a light sensor on the front of the iPad 2).
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is 9.69" x 6.71" x 0.43" and weighs 1.32Lbs. The iPad 2 9.50" x 7.31" x 0.34" and weighs 1.33Lbs
So ya, they are identical. Really. If I didn't know better, I'd confuse the Galaxy Tab 10.1 for an iPad 2. Wow! You're right!
I never knew Apple held the patent on a black rectangle!
Engelsstaub
September 15, 2011 at 10:11am
They don't and, in spite of our past differences here, I hope you're just trying to be funny. Do you know what the patent Apple holds stipulates? If so, point me to it. Google's been little help to me in this area.
The iOS look of their OS; the "dock," the little dots indicating the spaces you scroll to, the placement of the icons that launch various apps...I'm pretty certain that if Apple were suing because it had a patent on black rectangle the rest of the tablet manufacturers would be in court as well.
...that's just to my eye. I'm not a lawyer and if you are it's pretty clear you're not involved in Apple's litigation. Governments such as Germany's are speaking on this matter for us. Please drop the bias for one second and let them do so. Unless your conspiracy theory is so fat that you'd think Apple can buy EU courts...if that's the case than I don't think we've anything to learn from each other here.
bling581
September 16, 2011 at 10:04am
the "dock"
Yeah because no other electronic device uses a "dock". Your use of quotations speaks for itself.
vgrig
September 15, 2011 at 6:23am
I think Moses should sue Apple on behalf of god - for stealing iPad design.
Engelsstaub
September 15, 2011 at 6:41am
Oh no you don't...those tablets with the Ten Suggestions were functionally different. Besides Moses Inc. sold its rights to stone tablets when it got into the scroll business. Yahweh's just all mad cuz Apple's been using that bitten-apple logo.
...besides Apple isn't trying to copy the look of GodOS and everything else.
vgrig
September 15, 2011 at 7:02am
lol. of course Apple isn't trying to copy GodOS, that requires SENSE OF HUMOR!
aarcane
September 14, 2011 at 10:02pm
I think the brits will just pop through the chunnel and pick one up.
Joji
September 14, 2011 at 8:14pm
What a pathetic attempt to fight with your competition. I mean, isn't it obvious enough that a "sqare design" is fundamental when ti comes to tablet PCs. What, the square design is registered trade mark for Apple!? Nonsense!
If Apple does win in this lawsuit, I hope to see some people go full rage and "hack and destroy" Apple's servers... seriously, this is madness!
Engelsstaub
September 15, 2011 at 4:28am
I think the Samsung Tab has quite a bit more "resemblance" to the iPad than just a square design. Hacking and destroying someone's servers over business...go outside or something.
Hg Dragon
September 14, 2011 at 7:10pm
Why bother innovating when you can just sue your competition and beat them taht way? Whole lot cheaper than R&D...
Marthian
September 15, 2011 at 5:49am
or with ISPs, why bother with innovation? Odds are they only have one or two services available, either they have internet or they don't. No need to start upgrading the infrastructure, "data is a scarce resource" and all that, no point in giving them better speeds or service, those cost money...
I hate where innovation is going.
Caboose
September 15, 2011 at 8:26am
"I hate where innovation is going."
You mean there is innovation today?!
warlok180
September 14, 2011 at 4:46pm
As much as I'm sick of hearing about all these stupid lawsuits...how are Apple's products no longer relevant or wanted? All the sales data suggests that people are still buying their products and their stores are packed every time I've walked by one in the mall. Most are probably the Apple faithful...but gotta admit that people love their stuff.
These patent laws need to be revised...like ASAP...lawyers are ruining everything.
acidic
September 14, 2011 at 4:10pm
why cant apple just admit and accept that their products are no longer relavant and wanted ? i guess the old saying went from "if you cant beat them, join them" to "if you cant outsell them, sue them into bankruptcy"
Engelsstaub
September 15, 2011 at 4:31am
Samsung Tabs were just pummeling iPads in units sold. Wait...what??
don2041
September 14, 2011 at 7:40pm
acidic I agree 100%. There doesnt seem to be any originality or inovation in these mega corps any,what they cant steal from each other they try to sue it away from each other, and somehow I get the feeling that lawyers are pushing these outfits into this crap. After all the lawyers get paid no matter what the outcome.
