Tablets and its smaller sibling smartphone are devices that are similar no matter who makes them. The function of these devices leaves little room to make the appearance of them distinctive, and that's why this injunction is insane. If you read the court documents, it quickly becomes apparent that Apple can make the same case against every tablet on the planet. It's one thing to protect technical developments, but to say that only Apple can produce a tablet that looks like a tablet can only hurt consumers wanting choice.
It is clear that Apple is cherry-picking competitor's products that threatens its iPad business, and will keep doing so going forward given its initial success in the courts. You keep doing it until it no longer works, not to protect your dominant business position but because it is an expensive deterrent to competitors to play the game. That's exactly what this is for, make no mistake about it.
I am supportive of companies protecting inventions, but this is just ludicrous. You can't ban products that look something like another, as that just stifles competition. Exact knockoffs should be prohibited, but that's a far cry from things that just look somewhat like other things. It is disappointing to see courts falling under the Apple spell like this.
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