Apple's Lengthy Lawsuit With Samsung Over Copying iPhone's Design Headed Back to Court

[deanthedev]

Even though he should be quiet, someone knowing something about negotiating would argue "why not temporise OLED production until Cook&Co come crawling and begging to Taiwan"
Answer: this whole thing is maintained to fool us into a competitive marketplace. Which doesn't exist anymore: It's a well-managed, worldwide duopoly.

Because Samsung Semiconductor and Samsung Mobile are two different divisions, and operate as if they were separate companies.

A better question would be: How upset is Samsung Semiconductor at Samsung Mobile for copying Apple and jeopardizing their business relationship? How much money have they lost or could potentially lose by fighting with one of their biggest customers?

Edited: How could it be a duopoly when Apple massively outsells Samsung? They’re not even in the same league.

 

[citysnaps]

That "rectangle" with an all-glass front and no physical keyboard was a radical phone design that Apple took a HUGE risk on in 2007... and was deemed doomed to fail when Steve Jobs revealed it. The design is rightly patented and any company that copies that design SHOULD PAY hefty licensing fees to use it. No idea why it's taking so long for justice to be served.

Yep. I remember all the whining and moaning about the iPhone not having a mechanical keyboard. And as a result would be a huge flop.

Some even used the argument that teenagers were dead set in their ways texting using a 0-9 mechanical keyboard with multiple presses on each key to get the full alphabet, was enshrined in stone. And therefore the iPhone would fail miserably not speaking to that market with its glass full character set keyboard.

 

[A MacBook lover]

They can drop it, Samsung made a much better looking smartphone with the S8 than the X.

Wrong, X is way sexier

 

[Braderunner]

I love reading through the comments on stories like these. Some people seem to have everything figured out. Yet, they only add to the "noise" of the internet. So wise.

 

[69Mustang]

A better question would be: How upset is Samsung Semiconductor at Samsung Mobile for copying Apple and jeopardizing their business relationship? How much money have they lost or could potentially lose by fighting with one of their biggest customers?

Edited: How could it be a duopoly when Apple massively outsells Samsung? They’re not even in the same league.

Samsung Semi was never in jeopardy of losing Apple's business. Who was going to fill the gap? It's 2017 and Apple still can't divest itself of Samsung yet. Sammy knew it's strategic position, which is why copying wasn't that much of a risk for them. The reward was far greater and depending on the result of the new settlement/trial, it will be even greaterer <-- not a word I know, but a funny not word.

Apple outsells Samsung? I'm guessing you're talking revenue/profit not units.

 

[mi7chy]

Ironic that recent iPhones have copied much more from Samsung. And, the original iPhone design is now like the Ford Model T which is ugly and stale.

 

[Jsameds]

Ironic that recent iPhones have copied much more from Samsung. And, the original iPhone design is now like the Ford Model T which is ugly and stale.

What's been copied from Samsung?

 

[pat500000]

Aren’t they spending a lot of money by going to court?

 

[I7guy]

What's been copied from Samsung?

There is a certain amount of cross pollination. The android manufacturers are tripping over themselves to produce the most generic slab phone ever. Some will say Apple copies the bezeless designs started by LG years ago. The folks who like iPhone at least have the notch.

 

[convergent]

Ahh.... the patented rectangle.. TV business it going to go crazy apparently they all copy each others design.

Right... that is why this whole thing is not unexpected, and kind of silly. With the move to minimal bezels, at what point is patenting anything about the shape of the phone ridiculous. Soon they will just be slabs of dark glass, just like TVs. Are we going to patent the shape of the curve at the edge? Or maybe patent the stupid notch... don't think anyone is going to copy that!

Its the software that is at question, and they run completely different systems. Ironically, you'll find a bunch of discussions in the "alternatives to iOS" forum about how everyone hates that Samsung creates their own software on top of Android (which I happen to like).

 

[wigby]

They can drop it, Samsung made a much better looking smartphone with the S8 than the X.

So if I mug you and then decide to do something good, I should not be held responsible for my crime?

 

[Suckfest 9001]

its always amusing how people think this boils down to rounded rectangles...



come on now. samsung even had internal documents that fully admitted this

 

[HowieIsaacks]

What do patent trolls have to do with this case?

I never said that they were involved. I was simply stating an example of someone who often does win in court instead of having to drag things out. You need to keep up.

 

[Suckfest 9001]

Ironic that recent iPhones have copied much more from Samsung. And, the original iPhone design is now like the Ford Model T which is ugly and stale.

lol you remind me of those people that buy hyundai cars because they "look so sharp and have nice interior features". same group of people that fall for gimmicks and specs sheets in the automotive world, unknowingly buying products that are mechanical disasters

 

[wigby]

No one won in this saga, except the lawyers.

Apple has prevented countless copiers, both foreign and domestic by seeing this trial through. It was never about the money and only about sending a message to would-be thieves that Apple doesn't back down. Of course it's impossible to prove a negative but even if their own legal fees were in the billions and they knew they would lose, Apple would still gladly pay it. The winning verdict was just a little cake icing for them.

 

[5105973]

That "rectangle" with an all-glass front and no physical keyboard was a radical phone design that Apple took a HUGE risk on in 2007... and was deemed doomed to fail when Steve Jobs revealed it. The design is rightly patented and any company that copies that design SHOULD PAY hefty licensing fees to use it. No idea why it's taking so long for justice to be served.

I’m pretty sure my husband had a Windows phone of some sort that had a large rectangular screen and no physical keyboard in 2004. I was pregnant at the time and not paying super close attention but I remember that it looked like a precursor to an iPhone. It didn’t work like one, but it looked like it. I suppose Apple’s patent covers the icon array being on the rectangular display.

Samsung deserves to get sued but the problem with the system is that this all has dragged on to the point where everything is so different now that it’s hard to see the point. It may even hurt their partnerships on other fronts.

Apple has more blatant copycats now among the Chinese companies. I wonder how they manage to get away with copying the exact shape and placement of antenna lines on chassis that look so much like an iPhone.

 

[deanthedev]

Samsung Semi was never in jeopardy of losing Apple's business. Who was going to fill the gap? It's 2017 and Apple still can't divest itself of Samsung yet. Sammy knew it's strategic position, which is why copying wasn't that much of a risk for them. The reward was far greater and depending on the result of the new settlement/trial, it will be even greaterer <-- not a word I know, but a funny not word.

Apple outsells Samsung? I'm guessing you're talking revenue/profit not units.

You never heard of TSMC? Toshiba/Hynix? Have you looked inside any recent iPhone teardown to see how little there is from Samsung?

I’m talking flagship sales. iPhone slaughters Galaxy S and Note sales.

 

[wigby]

The coca-cola example is one thing, but Apple is essentially saying they’ve got a patent on something the shape of a rectangle with a screen covering most of one side.

Somthing needs to be done about the patent system.

Something needs to be done about comments involving the patent system.

 

[visegripmikey]

Haha I still have and use this Samsung phone... sliding keyboard and all.

 

[wigby]

I’m pretty sure my husband had a Windows phone of some sort that had a large rectangular screen and no physical keyboard in 2004. I was pregnant at the time and not paying super close attention but I remember that it looked like a precursor to an iPhone. It didn’t work like one, but it looked like it. I suppose Apple’s patent covers the icon array being on the rectangular display.

Samsung deserves to get sued but the problem with the system is that this all has dragged on to the point where everything is so different now that it’s hard to see the point. It may even hurt their partnerships on other fronts.

Apple has more blatant copycats now among the Chinese companies. I wonder how they manage to get away with copying the exact shape and placement of antenna lines on chassis that look so much like an iPhone.

So are you saying Samsung dragging their feet is the problem, the slow courts or Apple tenacity?

I would argue that this case dragging on only benefits Apple even if their dollar award whittles down to nothing. Samsung has done a lot in an attempt to shake the image of a stereotypical copycat company. Every time this story gets dragged up again years later, it reminds every consumer that Samsung got their headstart in the smartphone industry by copying the preeminent designers. It also reminds tech companies that Apple doesn't give up and stands behind their legal priniciples when they feel they're being stolen from. That kind of message is worth billions to Apple and billions to Samsung to make it all go away.

 

[Phonephreak]

Never ending. Smh

 

[69Mustang]

You never heard of TSMC? Toshiba/Hynix? Have you looked inside any recent iPhone teardown to see how little there is from Samsung?

Yep, hear of them both. Still doesn't change Samsung's influence over the iPhone. In a couple weeks, you won't be able to look at iPhone X without looking directly at that influence. Same next year. If rumors about LG's less than small OLED panels are true, that influence might extend even further.

I’m talking flagship sales. iPhone slaughters Galaxy S and Note sales.

Probably would have helped the clarity of what you meant if you'd have actually, ya know, said it. Instead of what you did say.

 

[Glideslope]

There needs to be a limit on retrials. At some point the system needs to set a final ruling. Lawsuits are just ridiculously long.

Agreed. Judge Lucy is right up there with Judge Judy these days. She should be reassigned.

 

[bladerunner2000]

Apple needs to move on.

 

[robeddie]

This lawsuit has gone on more than half a decade and been reversed multiple times. Even the courts don’t seem to agree on the patent system, so yea, I think it is fair to say something needs to be done about it