Samsung has a good and valid point though in all honesty. If Samsung has to show Apple their future products then so should Apple. You reveal yours and I reveal mine. There is no such thing as I reveal mine but you don't have to reveal yours. It is only fair that if one is asked or required to share and show that the other party is as well otherwise it would be hypocrisy.
In a legal sense this isn't really applicable.
- Apple has not announced any new products yet. Samsung is asking for products which (from a legal perspective) may not be announced. We know that Apple inevitably will, but from the base legal standpoint, they haven't yet.
- Apple has a valid point in that Apple is not accused of copying Samsung products.
- The product is about current trade dress and products that Samsung has currently released or, at a minimum, announced. Samsung argued that they shouldn't have to produce prototypes, but many of the products they defended were announced, and, in the case of the Galaxy S 2, available (not from carriers, but unlocked SGS II phones can be purchasable on Amazon in the US).
The point is Apple is accusing Samsung of copying their trade dress to the point where consumers are likely or certain to be misled into thinking the Samsung products are made by Apple or otherwise affiliated by Apple, where said confusion causes certain loss for Apple (consumers buy Samsung products instead of Apple as a result). I am dubious of this claim - Apple is saying that rounded corners on the device (and rounded icons that "mirror" the rounded corners on the device), a box that opens to the product being immediately visible with accessories underneath, etc. cause confusion - I think the claim is ridiculous, but we'll see what shakes out in court.
If Samsung hadn't announced the products, shown off the photos, and, in some cases, released the products in other markets, the court probably wouldn't have forced Samsung. It's just reality. The products are in the public (even if not publicly available in every market, photos, etc. were available).
Samsung's most valid claim is that seeing future products would allow them to show Apple isn't that consistent with design...but I don't see that standing in light of the other factors.
Personally I though it was funny Samsung made the request. They knew it was going to get no where and was just harassment.
It was more of a stunt than anything else. Calling it harassment is pretty silly, IMO.
I see the product promos as a slight copy but anyone who has used the device in hand would quickly see that they are quite a bit different.
Apple is saying that, prima facie, consumers would think the Samsung devices in the lawsuit were made by Apple if they saw them in public, which they think is a violation of their trade dress and causes them irreparable harm. I'm dubious of that claim, but the claim isn't that people wouldn't fail to recognize the devices being different with side-by-side analysis.
