X
Business

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

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?
Written by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Contributing Writer

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:

19-04-2011-17-54-34.png
19-04-2011-17-54-51.png

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

19-04-2011-17-55-01.png

And here's the packaging for the Tab:

19-04-2011-17-55-10.png

Seem familiar?

What about the devices themselves?

19-04-2011-18-09-51.png

What do you think?

Then what about the icons?

19-04-2011-17-57-04.png
19-04-2011-17-57-14.png
19-04-2011-17-57-22.png

Paying homage or ripping off? You decide!

[poll id="618"]

Complaint here (WARNING - 10MB PDF)

Editorial standards