Samsung accused of designing iPad clone in Australia

In arguments to the New South Wales Federal Court this morning, Apple's lawyers alleged that Samsung has designed its Galaxy Tab 10.1 to look, feel and operate like the iPad and iPad 2 and, in this instance, has been caught in the act.

Apple Australia originally took Samsung to court in Australia in August, claiming that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 infringed on patents used for the creation of the iPad. Samsung, on the other hand, claimed that Apple was basing its case on the US version of the device and offered up three Australian models for study, agreeing to push back the release of the device to market. After thorough study, Apple Australia claims that the devices it received were hurriedly stripped of contested features in an attempt to dodge the litigation and enable the release of the product to market.

Apple Australia has today limited the scope of its case to three infringing patents, including the design of the touchscreen, the operation of multi-touch and the heuristic capability of the device — that is, how a device reacts to touch, multi-touch and "imprecise inputs" — as well as selective rejection or the way a device recognises, identifies and rejects inputs.

For more on this story, read Samsung accused of designing iPad clone on ZDNet Australia.