LOL Apple And Their Lack Of Intelligence

Apple has sued Samsung for "slavishly" copying its handset and tablet designs.

Apple said that Samsung's Galaxy S handset and Galaxy Tab tablet violated ten of its patents around the look and design of its iPhone and iPad.

Samsung has chosen to slavishly copy Apple’s innovative technology, distinctive user interfaces, and elegant and distinctive product and packaging design

“Instead of pursuing independent product development, Samsung has chosen to slavishly copy Apple’s innovative technology, distinctive user interfaces, and elegant and distinctive product and packaging design,” the suit argues, according to the Financial Times.

The suit notes says the Samsung devices too closely mimic the rounded corners of Apple's devices, as well as the design of its app icons.

The suit is the latest in a string of patent arguments between mobile leaders, and Samsung has already suggested it plans a counter suit. "Samsung will respond actively to this legal action taken against us through appropriate legal measures to protect our intellectual property," a spokesperson told PC Pro.

The move didn't come as a surprise to some analysts. "There has already been criticism that Samsung copied too much from Apple [in its Galaxy phones]," Bae Sung-young, a market analyst at Hyundai Securities, told Reuters.

However, as Samsung is a major supplier of chips to Apple, he doesn't expect the suit to be too damaging. "Whether they like it or not, [Apple and Samsung] have to work together."

Read more: Apple sues Samsung for "copying" its tablets and phones | News | PC Pro http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/366874/apple-sues-samsung-for-copying-its-tablets-and-phones#ixzz1KrR1I0TM

Apple is to sue mobile phone manufacturer HTC in a suit that claims the Taiwanese company has infringed 20 of the iPhone-maker’s patents.

HTC, which makes a range of handsets including Google’s flagship Nexus One, has declined to comment on the action until it has investigated the details of the filing.

Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, issued a statement saying “We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We've decided to do something about it.”

The suit claims that technology used in the iPhone interface, underlying hardware and architecture are all in fact Apple inventions. "We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours,” said Mr Jobs.

If successful, Apple’s action would result in HTC being banned from selling phones with the contentious features in the USA.

Apple Sues Nokia. Who’s Next?
Apple has now responded to last month’s Nokia lawsuit over networking patents by countersuing Nokia.

By Harry McCracken, Technologizer Dec 11, 2009 10:09 pm

“We’re very, very comfortable with where we are competitively…we like competition, as long as they don’t rip off our [intellectual property]…and if they do, we’ll go after them.”

–Apple COO Tim Cook, January

Early this year, there was much speculation on the Web about the possibility of Apple suing Palm over the Pre’s use of an iPhone-like multi-touch interface. So far, the two companies have stayed out of court. But Apple has now responded to last month’s Nokia lawsuit over networking patents by countersuing the Finnish giant. It denies that it’s infringed Nokia’s patents–but says that Nokia has violated a passel of Apple user-interface patents. Intentionally. And unashamedly.

"In response, Nokia chose to copy the iPhone, especially its enormously popular and patented design and user interface. As Anssi Vanjoki, Nokia's Executive Vice President and General Manager of Multimedia, stated at Nokia's GoPlay event in 2007 when asked about the similarities of Nokia's new offerings to the already released iPhone: 'If there is something odd in the world, we copy with pride.' "

Here’s Apple’s point-by-point response [PDF] to Nokia’s suit, which melds tedious legalese, Nokia-bashing, and bragging about the iPhone’s success.

I’m not a patent lawyer, so I’ll cheerfully steer clear of taking a side in this fight. But the fact that Apple is suing Nokia over using iPhone-like interfaces raises some interesting questions. Nearly every smartphone released since the original iPhone’s 2007 debut borrows from the iPhone, either a little (the Pre, Android) or a lot (“S-Class” LG phones such as the Arena LG-KM900.) To what extend does Apple think its parents render iPhone cloning illegal? Is it going to sue everyone, or just those who pick a fight, as Nokia did by suing first? Will smartphones get bogged down in lawsuits, like software did in the 1980s when there were lawsuits aplenty over applications that resembled other applications?

I’m in favor of intellectual property, but I feel a lot better when companies focus on making cool products, rather than squabbling before judges…

I also feel vaguely embarrassed by phones that crib too nakedly from the iPhone (although it’s probably possible to crib nakedly without violating patents, and to violate patents without cribbing nakedly). So I’m rooting for companies other than Apple to introduce user interfaces that are just as innovative as the iPhone’s was. So far, I’d say Palm’s WebOS remains the only next-generation phone OS that rivals the iPhone for fresh new ideas…