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Apple Loses German Court Bid To Ban Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1N, Nexus Phone
chrb writes "Apple has failed to get a patent ban on Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1N and the Nexus phone in Germany. Presiding Judge Andreas Mueller stated, 'Samsung has shown that it is more likely than not that the patent will be revoked because of a technology that was already on the market before the intellectual property had been filed for protection.' The patent in question covered list scrolling and document translation, scaling, and rotation on a touch-screen display. This news follows the recent Appeals court ruling that upheld the original Galaxy Tab 10.1 ban."
It is widely known that Apple stole the design of the iPhone from LG.
Fact is that Samsung created a tablet that looks very similar to an iPad, and that similarity was intentional. Other tablets do _not_ look that similar. And it is obvious that Apple doesn't like it. Whether Apple has a case legally or not doesn't matter that much; the message sent is "if you try to sell devices that we think are copying our devices then you'll end up in court, and we make it as inconvenient as possible for you". There are plenty of other devices where Apple could have sued over the same patents, but they don't because the _reason_ for suing is not the patents, but the similarity of the product design.
As far as "Other tablets do _not_ look that similar" goes Apple would beg to differ.
Yes apple is anti-competitive in the fact that they will drag you into court over trivial similarities. They took the very common flat slate concept and filed a patent on it. One thing they are very good at is using the ideas and concepts of others and claiming them as their own while convincing the faithful that it was all their idea. Prior art be damned. Keep swallowing the talking points of Apple's PR dept. though don't let the facts get in the way.
According to LG, the design was first presented in September 2006 actually.
It's about much, much more than that:
Oh, bullshit. Talk abotu cherry picking... for every feature that's listed as 'similar' there I could list another one that isn't.
Apple:
Home button is round
Doesn't have camera on front
Doesn't have 'back' and 'menu' buttons
Samsung:
Home button is rectangular
Has camera on front (top right)
Has 'back' and 'menu' buttons
etc.
The profile is even better - it's nothing like an iPhone from the side. But you missed that.
No sig today...
English coverage at http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-03/motorola-mobility-wins-second-german-ruling-against-apple.html
This tired old rounded corners whine again?
It's about much, much more than that: http://peanutbuttereggdirt.com/e/custom/Apple-vs-Samsung-1-Hardware-Design.html
It's an interesting link; I've seen similar before but not thought about it much. When you look at it it really looks like Samsung is copying Apple. Very interesting is the change in the unboxing experience. It looks completely convincing.
Then you remember your first Nokia N95; a product released before the iPhone was available. Look at the Nokia unboxing experience which happens to be captured on the internet. Suddenly the audacity of Apple in claiming this as their own takes your breath.
Nothing under the sun is original; this is outrageous.
=~ s,(.*),<sarcasm>$1</sarcasm>,g if any_point_you_wish();