Apple widens suit against Samsung



    The lawsuit between Apple and Samsung is gaining more momentum - on Thursday, Apple amended its lawsuit, accusing Samsung of an even greater number of violations. This is written by Florian Muller on the blog of FOSS Patents.

    If the lawsuit originally consisted of 38 pages, now it already has 63 pages. A lawsuit full of new allegations alleges that Samsung was “even bolder” than other Apple competitors in “crudely mimicking the appearance of Apple products to capitalize on Apple’s success.”

    Many charge points emphasize that Samsung released its products shortly after Apple's innovations. For example, Apple recalls 2007 when Samsung launched the F700, which supposedly represents the first instance of copying the look of an iPhone.

    Apple points out that there was a lot of hard work behind its products:

    While the success of the iPhone was instantaneous, its design process was not at all as instantaneous. For several years, the teams of people at Apple have dealt with every aspect of the design of the phone itself — the shape of the phone, the materials used, the size and placement of the mask framing the screen — and the multi-touch user interface to make the product look and feel completely different than previous phones On the market.

    The new version of the lawsuit emphasizes the uniqueness of the iPhone:

    Before Apple launched the first iPhone, no other company offered a phone with such features. Previous mobile phones were often bulky and with a physical keyboard. Some of them had a rocking button for navigation and button sets for numbers and call functions. Others had a front panel with a partial or full QWERTY keyboard and screen. No one had clean iPhone lines that immediately allowed him to be out of competition.

    To show how famous Apple devices have become due to their unique characteristics, the lawsuit cites various appearances of iPhone and iPad on the front pages or main sections of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today, as well as reviews in Time and Newsweek .

    Apple even points to its brand’s rating:

    May 8, 2011 Apple took first place in the top 100 BrandZ ranking of the most expensive brands in the world, with an increase in brand value by 84% per year. The increase in brand value was attributed to “successful iterations of existing products such as the iPhone, the creation of the tablet category with the launch of the iPad, and an expanded strategy that made the brand a leader in cloud computing, software, and innovative, sophisticated devices.”

    Returning to the charges against Samsung, Apple quotes several reporters:

    Copying has been widely noted in the industry and has been mentioned in several Samsung product reviews. For example, Wired editor wrote that “[Samsung] Vibrant's industrial design is strikingly similar to the iPhone 3G.” [...] "First look: Samsung Vibrant stripped off the design of the iPhone 3G." Another Wired editor wrote: “Let's solve one of the biggest disputes related to this phone. Yes, Vibrant is very similar to a certain best-selling smartphone. ” [...] “Samsung Vibrant is similar to the iPhone, the runtime is enough to match.” [...]

    In a review of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 from Business Insider, it says that "in front it looks like an iPad." [...]

    Samsung’s new emphasis on copying has probably been set to consider setting a preliminary injunction on Samsung products. Although usually preliminary prohibitions are set only in special circumstances.

    In the original lawsuit, the following Samsung products were specifically mentioned as copied: Samsung Captivate, Continuum, Vibrant, Galaxy S 4G, Epic 4G, Indulge, Mesmerize, Showcase, Fascinate, Nexus S, Gem, Transform, Intercept, Acclaim smartphones and Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet.

    In the new version of the lawsuit, all the above plus Droid Charge, Exhibit 4G, Galaxy Ace, Galaxy Prevail, Galaxy S (i9000), Gravity, Infuse 4G, Nexus S 4G, Replenish, Sidekick, Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy S II are copied. It also clarified what was meant by Showcase: Showcase i500 and Showcase Galaxy S.

    With regard to patent charges, Apple removed the allegations of violation of five patents for software, hardware and design, but added five other patents, including multi-point touch screen, graphical user interface and two-way touch panel.

    Apple can also file counterclaims in Korea, Japan, and Germany (where Samsung sued her in response to a lawsuit in California), and she still has time to respond to  a Samsung counterclaimfiled in California.

    And in the very near future, Apple may request a preliminary injunction to sell new Samsung products. Apple just recently completed the trial with Nokia and can now fully get involved in the patent battle with Samsung.

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