Samsung Lawyers Also Struggle to Tell iPad and Galaxy Tab Apart

I wonder why!

To be fair I doubt Samsungs lawyers give a toss about the tablets. They are just there to win and get paid.

MonkeySee.... said:

To be fair I doubt Samsungs lawyers give a toss about the tablets. They are just there to win and paid.

Click to expand...

The point here is that the average user cannot tell the difference, therefor copying is clearly evident - which is the point of the lawsuit to begin with....

The more Samsung's legal moves are reported, the more they seem like clowns with a legal team made up of dancing bears.

Correction as per the response to my post:

It all starts with management. The lawyers simply do their bidding, which is in general true of retained lawyers.

thewitt said:

The point here is that the average user cannot tell the difference, therefor copying is clearly evident - which is the point of the lawsuit to begin with....

Click to expand...

I'm not agreeing with either side (as I haven't read enough about the patents in question), but if someone was to pick up two similarly sized black HP/Compaq/Dell laptops or black Sony/Samsung/Toshiba TVs, I wouldn't be able to tell them apart from 10 feet.

Not sure why tablets should be the unique flower here, but I'd be happy to be corrected by someone with more knowledge of the lawsuit(s).

so basically courts across the globe are saying:
1. samsung is ripping off apple
2. samsung is trying to bully apple with their 3G patents

and yet its the apple that gets the most flak

At Ten Feet Away

And held above head height, I doubt most people would be able to distinguish between the two devices. Hardly a scientific or legally valid test.

I have placed both devices together, handled both, and the difference is more than evident. The Galaxy has a rather cheap plastic feel to it, and lacks the substantive quality feel of the iPad.

On a side note, a friend of mine bought one and popped over to show me his new purchase. We compared the two as objectively as possible and both came to the conclusion that the Tab was an attempt at copying the iPad. It doesn't really come close though, but from a legal standpoint I think Apple have a case here. We shall see as the lawyers get richer.

*LTD* said:

The more Samsung's legal moves are reported, the more they seem like clowns with a legal team made up of dancing bears.

Click to expand...

It's not really their legal team that is made of clowns. I've no doubt that it's made up of excellent lawyers. However, I suspect executive management has decided to force them to try and argue a case which has never had any chance of winning, all so that they can prove they didn't copy.

I'd hate to be a Samsung lawyer right now. They're literally working with nothing (apart from that other patent which they're sure Apple has violated, but that's another case).

I think Samsung could have avoided this by paying a fair share to Apple right from the start. They've clearly copied many aspects of the iPad. Instead, they chose the long and potentially more expensive route of legal battles.

-

Macman45 said:

And held above head height, I doubt most people would be able to distinguish between the two devices. Hardly a scientific or legally valid test.

I have placed both devices together, handled both, and the difference is more than evident. The Galaxy has a rather cheap plastic feel to it, and lacks the substantive quality feel of the iPad.

On a side note, a friend of mine bought one and popped over to show me his new purchase. We compared the two as objectively as possible and both came to the conclusion that the Tab was an attempt at copying the iPad. It doesn't really come close though, but from a legal standpoint I think Apple have a case here. We shall see as the lawyers get richer.

Click to expand...

They have a different screen aspect ratio. They have a different look when you turn both on. The Tab doesn't have a button where the iPad does. You use the Tab in Landscape Mode while you use the iPad in Portrait. How can one not tell the difference?

Tell me how Samsung Copied Apple rather than "it has a screen on it with a black border" Because Samsung did it way before iPad came out.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/samsung-digital-picture-frame-stores-pics-movies-music/

MonkeySee.... said:

To be fair I doubt Samsungs lawyers give a toss about the tablets. They are just there to win and get paid.

Click to expand...

This case is about whether an ordinary consumer could be confused by similarities between an iPad and a Samsung tablet. A well-prepared Samsung lawyer should be able to keep them apart from two hundred yards away, blindfolded, or he isn't doing his job and should be fired on the spot.

FNi said:

I'm not agreeing with either side (as I haven't read enough about the patents in question), but if someone was to pick up two similarly sized black HP/Compaq/Dell laptops or black Sony/Samsung/Toshiba TVs, I wouldn't be able to tell them apart from 10 feet.

Click to expand...

Owning a Samsung TV, I can say that it looks definitely different from a Sony TV (haven't ever looked at Toshiba closely). Different enough that a Samsung lawyer should recognise it from quite a distance.

Macman45 said:

And held above head height, I doubt most people would be able to distinguish between the two devices.

Click to expand...

Exactly Apple's point.

Macman45 said:

Hardly a scientific or legally valid test.

Click to expand...

It's not whether you can distinguish between them. If a friend visits you with an iPad shortly before your birthday, and you tell your mother that you would like an iPad just like that for your birthday, what are the chances that she would buy the wrong one for you? Or if your mother watched you using your iPad and tried it, and she goes to a store to buy one for herself? If she goes to a Sony store, and the Sony salespeople convince her that the Sony tablet, which looks very much different to her, will serve her just as well or better than an iPad, and she buys it, that's proper competition. But if she buys a Samsung tablet _thinking_ that she is getting an iPad, that is a rip-off.

Besides the devices themselves, don't forget that Samsung copied other things as well like the packaging, the look of apps and app icons, even things like the charging plug. There are pictures online showing the similarities, and it's obvious that it's intentional copying.

The Legal Argument

thenerdal said:

They have a different screen aspect ratio. They have a different look when you turn both on. The Tab doesn't have a button where the iPad does. You use the Tab in Landscape Mode while you use the iPad in Portrait. How can one not tell the difference?

Tell me how Samsung Copied Apple rather than "it has a screen on it with a black border" Because Samsung did it way before iPad came out.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/09/samsung-digital-picture-frame-stores-pics-movies-music/

Click to expand...

Is conceptual rather than physical as I understand it. Patent law is so damn complex and I wasnt taking sides in my post above, just making an observation. Perhaps Apple are too litigious but they have the right to defend themselves in court if they wish.

Macman45 said:

Is conceptual rather than physical as I understand it. Patent law is so damn complex and I wasnt taking sides in my post above, just making an observation. Perhaps Apple are too litigious but they have the right to defend themselves in court if they wish.

Click to expand...

I think you raise a good point, though. If you remove the brand logo, can you tell a box of Kleenex apart from the Walmart brand tissue paper? Can you tell a Firestone tire apart from a Yokohama tire without the logo on it? Can you tell a Dell mouse apart from an HP mouse?

You've got a screen and a back casing. Not that this is the conclusion they are suggesting, but it's an absurdity to argue that a device whose physical appearance is that simple needs to have some physically distinguishing feature to be different. Certainly, although there are many similarities, no one has trouble telling Android apart from iOS on visuals, and it would be pretty easy to tell which is which when they're on and unlocked.

milo said:

Besides the devices themselves, don't forget that Samsung copied other things as well like the packaging, the look of apps and app icons, even things like the charging plug. There are pictures online showing the similarities, and it's obvious that it's intentional copying.

Click to expand...

Samsung didn't copy the packaging. Nintendo DS had the same packaging that Apple is using. http://videogames.techfresh.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/nintendo-ds-japanese-box.jpg

As for your Samsung copying the charging plug, virtually all accessory hardware is made by just a few manufacturers, then repackaged and rebranded for different companies. So internally, those two charger are very likely the exact same hardware, probably made at the same facility. The boxing and branding is added after the fact by whoever buys the hardware.

gnasher729 said:

This case is about whether an ordinary consumer could be confused by similarities between an iPad and a Samsung tablet. A well-prepared Samsung lawyer should be able to keep them apart from two hundred yards away, blindfolded, or he isn't doing his job and should be fired on the spot.

Click to expand...

You're making it seem like the lawyers should have magic powers that allows them to tell the difference even when blindfolded..

Still don't understand why Samsung copied Apple in every regard. From the cable to the charger, to the box, to the device. Copied, Copied, Copied.

Macman45 said:

Is conceptual rather than physical as I understand it. Patent law is so damn complex and I wasnt taking sides in my post above, just making an observation. Perhaps Apple are too litigious but they have the right to defend themselves in court if they wish.

Click to expand...

The design of the iPad is basically(On the outside), a touch screen with a bezel around it. And that's pretty much what a tablet is. There's no other way to design it. Apple should just stop suing. :|

zin said:

It's not really their legal team that is made of clowns. I've no doubt that it's made up of excellent lawyers. However, I suspect executive management has decided to force them to try and argue a case which has never had any chance of winning, all so that they can prove they didn't copy.

Click to expand...

You're quite right, actually. It all starts with management.

----------

ouimetnick said:

Still don't understand why Samsung copied Apple in every regard. From the cable to the charger, to the box, to the device. Copied, Copied, Copied.

Click to expand...

What can you really expect from a company like this?

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/13394128/

MonkeySee.... said:

To be fair I doubt Samsungs lawyers give a toss about the tablets. They are just there to win and get paid.

Click to expand...

To be fair, that is exactly the kind of person that must be used in this sort of test. If anything the Samsung lawyers should be very familiar with the differences since they are arguing this case on Samsung's behalf -- the average person would be even less aware. The point Apple is trying to make is that only a tech-geek knows the difference and that is not sufficient. I think the average person would require a bit a scrutiny to tell the tablets apart.

To be fair again, if this were a case between Sony and Vizio over a television I'd bet the average person could not tell which was the Sony and which was the Vizio. However, I don't think there are any design patents on those televisions.

The much more interesting ruling is out of the Netherlands with regards to the 3G technologies patents. The fact that a judge has now ruled that those patents should be subject to FRAND licensing terms AND has said that Samsung's proposed terms are not in compliance with FRAND licensing is a huge win for Apple.

Formul said:

so basically courts across the globe are saying:
1. samsung is ripping off apple
2. samsung is trying to bully apple with their 3G patents

and yet its the apple that gets the most flak

Click to expand...

Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in sæcula sæculorum

Who's Winning?

If anyone wants to know the score, it's Apple-1; Samsung-0; Lawyers-8.

My aunt bought a samsung tab and genuinely thought it was an iPad. She was swindled though. The Verizon store insisted she was buying an iPad along with her phone. Obviously the biggest problem there was with the employee she encountered but she could not tell the difference herself and just believed him.

BC2009 said:

To be fair, that is exactly the kind of person that must be used in this sort of test. If anything the Samsung lawyers should be very familiar with the differences since they are arguing this case on Samsung's behalf -- the average person would be even less aware. The point Apple is trying to make is that only a tech-geek knows the difference and that is not sufficient. I think the average person would require a bit a scrutiny to tell the tablets apart.

To be fair again, if this were a case between Sony and Vizio over a television I'd bet the average person could not tell which was the Sony and which was the Vizio. However, I don't think there are any design patents on those televisions.

The much more interesting ruling is out of the Netherlands with regards to the 3G technologies patents. The fact that a judge has now ruled that those patents should be subject to FRAND licensing terms AND has said that Samsung's proposed terms are not in compliance with FRAND licensing is a huge win for Apple.

Click to expand...

iPad has a button Tab doesn't. The average person would first look at both devices first before buying the device.(And it's usually on) iOS is way different than Honeycomb. I have no idea how an average person wouldn't tell the difference unless they think the iPad is the only tablet in the market......

To be fair an average person compares TV's in stores as well with the TV's being labeled.

The Lawyer was not in a situation that an average person would be in. He was 10 feet away from both devices. OF COURSE you wouldn't be able to see the difference.

No matter what we think about this particular comparison, Samsung has screwed themselves.

Not only is Samsung starting to lose (or at best "tie") these battles in courts all over the globe - but they have pissed off Apple.

Samsung makes memory and processing chips. Apple was Samsung's largest customer. Apple has already started shifting to other vendors, and ultimately Samsung is going to lose significantly more than they stood to gain by suing Apple.

Samsung cut off their nose with no consideration for their face...

----------

thenerdal said:

To be fair an average person compares TV's in stores as well with the TV's being labeled.

The Lawyer was not in a situation that an average person would be in. He was 10 feet away from both devices. OF COURSE you wouldn't be able to see the difference.

Click to expand...

My brand new LG TV and my year old LG TV both have nicely visible "LG" logos on the front. Even though there are only so many ways you can style a TV and they all kind of look alike, LG made a bezel that was styled in a particular way to call out the TV as an LG.

Samsung could have done so with their bezel. They could slap a nice prominent Samsung logo and maybe change the color fade or style just enough. But they didn't. They released the tablet looking *exactly* like an iPad.

Sony, Microsoft, Motorola, Amazon - they would all sue anyone who did the same to them. In fact, if you made a tablet and a company made one that looked exactly like yours - you would sue them too.

Apple is not the bad guy here, no kool-aid needed.

Samsung could have altered one of a hundred design considerations and prevented this whole mess. They didn't.