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Topic: Samsung

Apple vs. Samsung - Blurring the line between paying homage and blatantly ripping off

Summary: Yesterday I reported that Apple had filed a lawsuit against Samsung, accusing the electronics giant of copying 'the look and feel' of the iPad tablet and iPhone for it's Galaxy S 4G, Epic 4G, Galaxy Tab, and Nexus S handset. When does paying homage cross the line into blatant ripping off?

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

By for Hardware 2.0 |

Yesterday I reported that Apple had filed a lawsuit against Samsung, accusing the electronics giant of copying “the look and feel” of the iPad tablet and iPhone for it’s Galaxy S 4G, Epic 4G, Galaxy Tab, and Nexus S handset.

When does paying homage cross the line into blatant ripping off?

Apple is claiming that, amongst other things, Samsung is infringing on several hardware, software and packaging dress elements. Among these are:

  • Rectangular device with rounded corners
  • Front-facing screen with black border
  • Metallic frame
  • Colorful, square icons with rounded corners
  • A row of icons along the bottom of the screen
  • Rectangular packaging with metallic type
  • Use of a tray to hold the product and make it visible as soon as the lid of the two-piece box has been lifted

Take a look at the evidence that Apple offers up in the lawsuit. What do you think?

Here is the packaging for the iPhone and iPad:

Here's Samsung's packaging for the Galaxy S:

And here's the packaging for the Tab:

Seem familiar?

What about the devices themselves?

What do you think?

Then what about the icons?

Paying homage or ripping off? You decide!

[poll id="618"]

Complaint here (WARNING - 10MB PDF)

Topics: Samsung, Apple

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128 comments
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  • RE: Apple vs. Samsung - Blurring the line between paying homage and blatantly ripping off

    Give me a break!
    TheRusher
    Reply Vote

    • No

      @rush@...
      DDERSSS
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Apple vs. Samsung - Blurring the line between paying homage and blatantly ripping off

        Apple is claiming that, amongst other things, Samsung is infringing on several hardware, software and packaging dress elements. <a href="http://www.plsqltutorials.com/">PL SQL Tutorial</a>
        michealyjhon
        Reply Vote

    • RE: Apple vs. Samsung - Blurring the line between paying homage and blatantly ripping off

      @rush@...
      It's an attack on OSS and Android too.
      Google must get involved and countersue!
      Linux Geek
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Apple vs. Samsung - Blurring the line between paying homage and blatantly ripping off

        @Linux Geek

        Google does not care about OSS or Linux. They use them to make their spyware and pawn it off on an innocent public who think they are getting something for nothing.

        I would love to see a truly Open Source Mobile platform. Perhaps Meego. Failing that, good alternatives to Google spyware are WebOS and QNX. Ubuntu is probably working on something since mobile is the way to go.
        jorjitop
        Reply Vote

    • RE: Apple vs. Samsung - Blurring the line between paying homage and blatantly ripping off

      @rush@... <br><br>Yep who invented the crowded desktop with static icons? All of this for Apple toys that are looking very old.

      Well at least they won't be suing MS as they're using a modern UI ;-)
      tonymcs@...
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Apple vs. Samsung - Blurring the line between paying homage and blatantly ripping off

        @tonymcs@... [i]Well at least they won't be suing MS as they're using a modern UI[/i]

        Just wait, in a year or two if more than a hand full of people have purchased WP7 phones by then maybe they will go after them as well ;-)
        non-biased
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Apple vs. Samsung - Blurring the line between paying homage and blatantly ripping off

        It's an attack on OSS and Android too. <a href="http://www.writinghelp.co.uk/essay/">essay help</a> | <a href="http://www.writinghelp.co.uk/coursework/">Coursework Help</a> | <a href="http://www.writinghelp.co.uk/assignment/">Assignment Help</a>
        jordanhawk
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Apple vs. Samsung - Blurring the line between paying homage and blatantly ripping off

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        jordanhawk
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    • WOW!

      All of the issues in Apple's complaint could easily pertain to the Nokia N800. Rectangular, rounded corners, shiny metal "frame", front facing display, etc...

      Unfortunately for Apple the N800 was on the market years before iPhone or iPad.

      If this isn't laughed out of court then our system is irretrievably broken.
      Tim Patterson
      Reply 1 Vote

      • RE: Apple vs. Samsung - Blurring the line between paying homage and blatantly ripping off

        @Tim Patterson at last a person who gets it.peace
        sarai1313@...
        Reply Vote

      • But Apple was the first to use a black box!

        @Tim Patterson <br>This is silly, and the blogger is too if he can't see it. <br>What other icon options are there for referencing a person (contacts) other then a person? Sneakers? <br>What other icons options are there to reference "music"? A steering wheel maybe?<br>I can't believe that someone would use a notepad icon to reference a note pad! They should have used a boat<br><br>Enough with the icon crap - there's only so many ways to display a reference to a particular object in simplistic form.
        Will Farrell
        Reply Vote

      • The Nokia N800 was released January 2007.

        The iPhone was unveiled in January 2007.
        fr_gough
        Reply Vote

      • So

        @frgough

        Then just look at the Nokia 700 series tablet. Same difference.

        The point is that nothing in Apple products is novel, innovative and worthy of artificially enforced exclusivity (patents).

        The only thing innovative about Apple is their marketing. Apple fans aren't buying devices. They are buying a pre-packaged sense of self worth ("coolness").
        Tim Patterson
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Apple vs. Samsung - Blurring the line between paying homage and blatantly ripping off

        @Tim Patterson
        <i>The only thing innovative about Apple is their marketing. Apple fans aren't buying devices. They are buying a pre-packaged sense of self worth ("coolness?).</i>

        Actually they are buying rodents they know will work as advertised. With the number of iPods, iPhones and iPads that have been sold to customers (as opposed to the retail channel), it speaks volumes bout the product. Unless you are claiming that an easy to use product is just an image?
        Rick_K
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Apple vs. Samsung - Blurring the line between paying homage and blatantly ripping off

        @Tim Patterson "If this isn't laughed out of court then our system is irretrievably broken"
        If they look at both Phones and don't determine that Samsung straight copied Apple, then system is irretrievably broken. By the way I hate Apple and Google, I have a WP7 HD 7
        I don't know why Apple isn't suing Google too, they have been ripping Apple off for a long time now. Before that they were ripping off RIM. Google actually gives their design team strict orders- NEVER EVER design anything. They say only copy. NO! I don't want to hear your idea, I said just copy! here take these competitors products and copy them all now.
        Now it looks like Samsung is taking advice from Google. Microsoft Phone may not be perfect, but at least they did their own thing. And it has potential. It's also very fast considering the crap hardware it's on.
        j-mccurdy@...
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Apple vs. Samsung - Blurring the line between paying homage and blatantly ripping off

        @Will Farrell There are other ways that they could have displayed them but they didn't. Don't get me wrong, I think the whole thing is pretty stupid though it's pretty obvious they were trying to get the look as close as possible. Of course if the suite was reversed you would be cheering Samsung on just because you hate Apple.
        non-biased
        Reply Vote

      • RE: Apple vs. Samsung - Blurring the line between paying homage and blatantly ripping off

        @Tim Patterson [i]The only thing innovative about Apple is their marketing. Apple fans aren't buying devices. They are buying a pre-packaged sense of self worth ("coolness").[/i]

        Really, that's the best you have? You can't come up with anything on your own? You have to resort to such a tired old talking point such as this one?
        non-biased
        Reply Vote

    • More Apple FUD

      Total BS - they're complaining about things that are neither copyrighted nor have design patents and that have been used for years before Apple launched iPhone 1.0

      In the Jobs Universe - everything Apple does is the FIRST time it's ever been done - even if they've copied it from others
      archangel9999
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Apple vs. Samsung - Blurring the line between paying homage and blatantly ripping off

        @archangel9999

        If you actually read the story and to just a little research, you'd see that Apple is suing over patent infringement. Apple has the patents. Try looking this up at www.uspto.gov: D627,790
        msalzberg
        Reply Vote
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