Apple Granted Injunction Barring Sale of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in European Union

[KnightWRX]

No, innovation like the fact that your Android phone would look like :

were it not for Apple

Oh, oh, this argument! I love this one.

You do realise, that in fact, my Android phone does look like that right :

In fact, I just upgraded from my previous Android phone, one of these :

So I guess it's like you say : It wasn't for Apple after all.

(Disclaimer : I have never owned either of these phones nor will I ever own them. Use of satire in this post is plainly to show above poster and any other who would make the same claim that they have an obviously very flawed argument in trying to tie Android the software platform to any kind of hardware form factor).

 

[K42]

Name one Asian company that made something truly innovative on their own! They steal and cheat and rip off the Americans every day.

Toyota

 

[jdawgnoonan]

software patents

Here is what I do not get regarding software patents: If you didn't steal the code how did you steal anything? If the graphics aren't identical how did you steal anything? I understand that a lot of R&D goes into these products, and I also agree that companies intellectual property should be protected. However, should you be able to patent language such as "A screen of icons that launch an application"? You can debate these things all that you want, but if you have ever worked with development tools you know that you are doing things that have been done before to build whatever it is that you are building. I am just glad that musical notes and chords never were patented....if the G chord had been invented today no one else would be able to play it without paying the inventor.

17' Macbook Pro, iPad, Droid X (after 3 iPhones)

 

[KnightWRX]

Name one Asian company that made something truly innovative on their own! They steal and cheat and rip off the Americans every day.

Tell me again, who was first with a chiclet keyboard design on a laptop... was it Apple or Sony ?

 

[Consultant]

They are for sale in the UK:

<link>

UK is not part of EU.

 

[BC2009]

So...you googled and didn't find this?

http://blog.pedrocustodio.com/2008/01/18/excellent-design-by-dieter-rams/

Let me get this straight... you think that the iPod is a copy of the Braun T3?

You think that the Mac Pro is a copy of that T1000 Radio?

Seriously?

I'm not saying Rams did not do amazing work. I'm not saying that others like Ive's were not inspired by his work. But these are not copies. That would be like saying anybody painting in the impressionist style today was just copying Claude Monet. Certainly his work is inspiring to other artists and designers, but copying somebody's work is a different story.

Samsung is literally producing products in the exact same category in the same year that are trying to look as close as possible to Apple products from hardware to software (TouchWiz). Every other Android manufacturer is coming up with their own original and good designs. The HTC phones are beautiful. The Motorola devices actually feel substantial in your hand. The Samsung devices look like the Android version of Apple products.

Be inspired by or paying homage to somebody's designs by creating designs in the same style either years or decades later is a form of flattery. If Ives views Rams as one of his idles, then this makes sense. Its not like Apple was going up against Braun products with knock-off versions.

All I see here with the point you make is Ives drawing inspiration from Rams. I don't see anything like what Samsung is doing with Apple. Even if Samsung wanted to see a desk lamp that looked like an iPad on a swivel arm, I would not call that copying, but "inspiration". I know you are trying to make a point, but I think it is not resonating with others (including myself).

 

[iMaci7]

I'm really tired of these patents. Let everyone share/take ideas and make humanity a better place.

Thats the whole point of a patent. You give your ideas to the public (disclosing your exact design to the public via the patent office, for the better of humantity), and in return, they protect your design for a set period of time. In the event that someone infringes on your patent, you must pursue them, or lose your patent rights.


Or at least thats what i remember from college.

 

[aaaaaaron]

It is Apple's responsibility to its shareholders to protect its property, including intellectual property. Just the same as protecting its physical property by requiring its stores' doors to be locked outside of business hours. If you don't protect your IP, you lose it, and thereby lose the value of your research and rip off your investors.

As posted earlier in this thread, why don't you rag on Google, whose executives have been shown to be aware of intellectual property infringement and decided to ignore it in the hopes of getting away with it?

you're right, they are worried about the shareholders who are worried about money. it's all about money.

 

[AaronEdwards]

Let me get this straight... you think that the iPod is a copy of the Braun T3?

You think that the Mac Pro is a copy of that T1000 Radio?

Seriously?

I'm not saying Rams did not do amazing work. I'm not saying that others like Ive's were not inspired by his work. But these are not copies. That would be like saying anybody painting in the impressionist style today was just copying Claude Monet. Certainly his work is inspiring to other artists and designers, but copying somebody's work is a different story.

Samsung is literally producing products in the exact same category in the same year that are trying to look as close as possible to Apple products from hardware to software (TouchWiz). Every other Android manufacturer is coming up with their own original and good designs. The HTC phones are beautiful. The Motorola devices actually feel substantial in your hand. The Samsung devices look like the Android version of Apple products.

Be inspired by or paying homage to somebody's designs by creating designs in the same style either years or decades later is a form of flattery. If Ives views Rams as one of his idles, then this makes sense. Its not like Apple was going up against Braun products with knock-off versions.

All I see here with the point you make is Ives drawing inspiration from Rams. I don't see anything like what Samsung is doing with Apple. Even if Samsung wanted to see a desk lamp that looked like an iPad on a swivel arm, I would not call that copying, but "inspiration". I know you are trying to make a point, but I think it is not resonating with others (including myself).

Those aren't desk lamps looking like an iPad (something Apple still would sue for).

It's the design of a music player stolen from the design of a music player.
It's the design of a monitor stolen from the design of a monitor.
It's the design of a computer case stolen from the design of a computer case.

 

[nickosbad]

UK is not part of EU.

Erm....yes it is!! The UK is not part of the Euro (currency)

They are 2 totally different things!

 

[iMaci7]

All the online news articles (which are mostly just copies of one another... isn't that ironic, btw?) seem to indicate that it's barred over an EU design registration of a generic rounded rectangle look:

View attachment 298305

Which seems silly, since rounded rectangle tablet ideas have been around:

View attachment 298307



In addition to the other Rams-Braun images that have been linked to, the iPhone took a lot of design cues from a Braun calculator.

View attachment 298306

Its a user interface issue. No tablet worked like the iPad before the iPad, and after the iPad everything works like an iPad. Its pretty blatantly clear that Samsung rips off Apple, of course, thats why Apple was granted and injunction.

 

[AppleFan1984]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW0DUg63lqU

"...and we've always been shameless about stealing great ideas."
- Steve Jobs

 

[BC2009]

In addition to the other Rams-Braun images that have been linked to, the iPhone calculator app took a lot of design cues from a Braun calculator.

View attachment 298306

Fixed that for you. Apple did not produce a calculator and try to sell head-to-head against a Braun calculator. They are selling a mobile phone that has a utility app called "Calculator" that certainly pays homage to (or copies, if you like) the Braun calculator look and feel. No argument here on your example. Big difference between what Samsung's TouchWiz and hardware trying to look as much like and simultaneously compete against iPhone.

Like I said before... If Samsung wants to create a desk lamp that looks like an iPad on a swivel arm, then more power to them. Products in different categories don't compete with each other. Nobody is going to say "should I buy the iPhone or the Braun Calculator?.... hmmm.... I can't decide".

Personally, I can tell the Galaxy Tab and the iPad apart at a glance. It is obvious to me, probably not to the likes of my parents. However, Apple went and registered their design with the EU and they are entitled to the protection afforded by the EU for that. Personally, I have seen that iPad design years before Apple did it on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Those prop tablets looked very much like an iPad. The iPhone design was pretty innovative for a mobile phone. The iPad is just a large version of that. According to Jobs, the iPad was conceived before the iPhone. I'm guessing Jobs/Ives drew inspiration from props in Sci-Fi television for the iPad, and then probably scaled it down for the iPhone. But they made a real product -- not a prop. And they went as far as to patent / register the designs to ensure when the competition caught up that Apple could differentiate their product from the competition.

Should the EU take another look at the required specificity for design registrations? Perhaps. Although, I fully believe that if RIM was first to market with a tablet it would probably have more buttons than a Kindle. The reason the iPad design is so desirable is because it is good. I don't believe Samsung would have landed on that design on their own. So its hard for me to argue against the design registrations and patents that were granted. I think most folks in the shoes of the examiners would have approved it because at the time it looked brilliant and innovative.

 

[AppleFan1984]

Android will now begin to die.

"The Assimilation Continues".

Today's Apple fan will not be content until there is only one company, one product, one man controlling all the apps in the world.

Go back to the "1984" ad, replace the face on the big screen, take a seat in the audience and enjoy your show.

 

[BC2009]

Those aren't desk lamps looking like an iPad (something Apple still would sue for).

It's the design of a music player stolen from the design of a music player.
It's the design of a monitor stolen from the design of a monitor.
It's the design of a computer case stolen from the design of a computer case.

You're cracking me up.

Yes the Braun T3 is a FM radio. The iPod never competed against the Braun T3. Apple did not try to bring knock-off Braun products to market. They were inspired by its design.

That monitor picture at the bottom of that reference you provided? Are you saying because there is a square TV-shaped screen that Apple copied them when they created the iMac. That's a great laugh. But then everybody is copying Braun on that. Hilarious.

Your supposed "computer case" is the "T1000 Radio" which is a shortwave radio receiver. I think consumers are probably very confused about whether they should pickup a Mac Pro or a shortwave radio receiver. Thanks for being astute enough to bring this to the attention of the MacRumors readers. I suppose I was just "pwned" or "owned" or whatever, right?

You claim Apple is stealing things from Braun/Rams. I say that Ives was inspired by Braun/Rams. But in any case, these products are not competing with each other. Samsung is trying to compete with Apple with knock-offs of their products.

You have still failed to make the point you have been trying to make.

EDIT: If somebody makes a desk lamp that looks like an iPad with a swivel arm and Apple sues them, then I hope Apple loses. My whole point is if you want to compete then come up with your own designs (like HTC and Motorola). If you want to be inspired by (or copy) somebody else's work (and I'm talking hardware and software) then don't compete with them.

Case and point.... Apple copied Delicious Library's bookshelf look for iBooks. However, iBooks and Delicious Library do not compete with each other. They do very different things. Would have been nice of Apple to at least give the Delicious Library some kind of perk for lifting their design (like featuring their app in the Mac App Store), but at least Apple is not trying to cut into their sales.

 

[*LTD*]

Today's Apple fan will not be content until there is only one company, one product, one man controlling all the apps in the world.

Go back to the "1984" ad, replace the face on the big screen, take a seat in the audience and enjoy your show.

If there's going to be domination (just for the sake of argument), better Apple than anyone else.

Or maybe not, for those of you that like the whole underdog situation.

 

[rjohnstone]

I can't tell the difference, I guess I am not a "complete idiot".

So the HUGE SAMSUNG blazed across it sufficient enough for you?
Or the fact that one is larger than the other and has no buttons on the front at all, o that the camera is dead center on the long edge and not the top corner.

Your idiocy is complete.
I might suggest a visit to the optometrist in the very near future.

U.S. Version... (No Samsung logo on the front)

Non-U.S. version (Samsung logo on front)

 

[AppleFan1984]

This is a preliminary injunction, which means that a punishment is being doled out before the case is settled which would determine whether any punishment should be doled out.

On the odd chance that Samsung prevails in the case, what multiple of damages will Apple be liable for as a result of this injunction?

 

[AaronEdwards]

You're cracking me up.

Yes the Braun T3 is a FM radio. The iPod never competed against the Braun T3. Apple did not try to bring knock-off Braun products to market. They were inspired by its design.

That monitor picture at the bottom of that reference you provided? Are you saying because there is a square TV-shaped screen that Apple copied them when they created the iMac. That's a great laugh. But then everybody is copying Braun on that. Hilarious.

Your supposed "computer case" is the "T1000 Radio" which is a shortwave radio receiver. I think consumers are probably very confused about whether they should pickup a Mac Pro or a shortwave radio receiver. Thanks for being astute enough to bring this to the attention of the MacRumors readers. I suppose I was just "pwned" or "owned" or whatever, right?

You claim Apple is stealing things from Braun. I saw that Ives was inspired by Braun. But in any case, these products are not competing with each other. Samsung is trying to compete with Apple with knock-offs of their products.

You have still failed to make the point you have been trying to make.

Stealing designs has nothing to do with if the product is competing or not, or whether one design is older. I could make an iPad desk lamp and Apple would sue me right away.

One of the main points of the comparison between Apple's designs and Rams' is that it's not one design, whoever it is, I'm pretty sure it Ives, loves stealing from Rams.

 

[TMay]

That's because they're desperately trying to copy Toyota.

Hybrids, full electrics...

Funny about that; it was the U.S. Government grant of around a billion dollars that launched R&D projects at the Big Three, placing the U.S. far ahead in hybrids by the late 1990's.Toyota saw the writing on the wall, and next thing you know, somewhere in the order of 2 million Prious/Toyota hybrids have been shipped worldwide, and the hitherto reluctant Big Three are back in the hybrid and electric business.

 

[WvB22]

With all respect for Apple but the iPad wasn't the first tablet and the samsung doesn't really look a lot like it. Sure they're both tablets but are all desktops now copycats of each other? I mean a tablet is a tablet in which form it may come. It will be a flat screen with touch controls. Apple wasn't the first to come with the idea. The samsung isn't a copy. You can easily tell them apart. Samsung uses android so no copying there. I can't see how this would stick. Apple can't claim the tablet design. It was there all along. Apple made the first successful tablet but that's something completely different. My guts say something went terribly wrong with these two companies.

In these cases Apple is actually quite evil. Or just doing smart business. Just watch the first keynote of the iPhone. Apple worked together with lots of companies to make the iPhone possible. Just watch it. The complete keynote is an example of companies working together to launch a revolutionary phone. Most of those companies are now put aside by Apple once they didn't need them anymore or became 'enemies' (competitors). I don't blame Apple. They're just defending their business. But it does have some sour taste to be honest.

 

[AidenShaw]

Ive will seal from anyone/anything

Stealing designs has nothing to do with if the product is competing or not, or whether one design is older. I could make an iPad desk lamp and Apple would sue me right away.

One of the main points of the comparison between Apple's designs and Rams' is that it's not one design, whoever it is, I'm pretty sure it Ives, loves stealing from Rams.

5 years before the original Bondi blue Imac:

Rowenta Steam Iron​

 

[AppleFan1984]

In these cases Apple is actually quite evil. Or just doing smart business. Just watch the first keynote of the iPhone. Apple worked together with lots of companies to make the iPhone possible. Just watch it. The complete keynote is an example of companies working together to launch a revolutionary phone. Most of those companies are now put aside by Apple once they didn't need them anymore or became 'enemies' (competitors).

A joke becoming increasingly popular around the Valley:

Q: What do automotive repair, soybean farming, and the manufacture of processed cheese food have in common?

A: Those are the three industries Steve Jobs hasn't alienated recently.

 

[SandynJosh]

Am I the only one who is a little offended by the continual use or the word "Asian" before using "Thieves" and "Knock-offs", etc? I understand many of these companies are headquartered in Asia, but it just makes me a little queazy to hear people say that.

To be completely accurate, the worst offenders of patent, trademark, and copyrights are Greater China and South Korea, with various other Asian countries trying to catch up. These, primarily Asian countries, have laws in place to prohibit these kinds of crimes but rarely prosecute, or have fines so small that it's more like paying a "tax" to continue to do illegal business as usual.
The "anything goes" attitude of Asian manufacturers is echoed in Asian farmers feeding their pigs toxic chemicals to get to market with pinker flesh, and Asian dairies adding toxic chemicals to milk to raise the grade. There is a complete lack of business ethics throughout the entire management and governmental bodies. It's so rife that painting with a broad brush is not inappropriate.

 

[BC2009]

Stealing designs has nothing to do with if the product is competing or not, or whether one design is older. I could make an iPad desk lamp and Apple would sue me right away.

One of the main points of the comparison between Apple's designs and Rams' is that it's not one design, whoever it is, I'm pretty sure it Ives, loves stealing from Rams.

Not according your last post where you felt compelled to tell me that the products were all in the same category.

But Rams has had nothing "stolen" from him. Your use of "stolen" is quite strong here. "Copied" would be the most derogatory term that would be correct. Others would say "Inspired By" -- like when something is called "retro" because its a throwback to something somebody else did years ago.

If you made an iPad-looking desk lamp and Apple sued you and you started a kickstarter project to defend against the Apple lawsuit, then I promise to contribute and I hope you kick their butts in court.

Drawing inspiration from one thing to create something else is a form of flattery or a compliment. You can make something in the same category as the original from years ago and folks will call it "retro" or a "throw back" or say it pays "homage" to the original. Alternatively, creating something in a different category than the original regardless of time-frame is another form of flattery. Perhaps you want to make a chair that resembles the aesthetic of an iMac in industrial design. Its especially nice if you attribute your source of inspiration to the original (I don't know if Ives has ever stated that he admires Rams' work).

However, creating something that very closely resembles a competitor's product and then going head-to-head with them in the market is an invitation for a lawsuit. Its a whole different story.

There is no "theft" going on here on Apple's part. They have not taken one dollar from Braun by drawing inspiration from their past designs. Samsung on the other hand has been trying to sell the "Android version of the iPhone" and with the Galaxy Tab they literally did a 180 on their design once they saw the iPad 2. Personally, I feel the Galaxy Tab is different enough from the iPad 2, but the registered designs with the EU and the design patents apparently don't agree with me. I said it before, and I say it again. Samsung is the poster-boy for copying others. Or to use your terminology: Samsung is the poster-boy for stealing from others. Although I think the term "copying" is the correct term here. They certainly are not paying homage to the iPad.