Apple is on a war path as they have begun court proceedings against Samsung for allegedly copying the iPad and iPhone. Apple quote several Samsung devices, e.g Galaxy S 4G, Epic 4G, Google Nexus S and Galaxy Tab, which they believe have copied from Apple products.
The Cupertino company hasn’t gone about this subtly, saying “Rather than innovate and develop its own technology and a unique Samsung style for its smart phone products and computer tablets, Samsung chose to copy Apple’s technology, user interface and innovative style in these infringing products.”
Apple are obviously looking for damages from the Korean electronic giant. Just to make their case a bit more compelling they have also included some pictures of the devices side by side to draw comparisons between the products. Apple are looking to protect its best selling devices and even wants a ruling to say that Samsung knew what it was doing and was willful in its attempt to copy Apple’s products.
There are also legal battles between Nokia and Apple, each claiming the other is using patented technology without paying royalties – Nokia says Apple is “getting a free ride” on implementations of fundamental communications technology such as UMTS, GSM and wireless LAN, while Apple thinks recent Nokia phones infringe on aspects of the iPhone.
Negotiations between the two broke down and the legal battle started when Nokia sued Apple in October 2009. Apple counter-sued in December, and later sought to have Nokia phones banned.
The two companies are both indignant. “By refusing to agree [to] appropriate terms for Nokia’s intellectual property, Apple is attempting to get a free ride on the back of Nokia’s innovation,” Ilkka Rahnasto, vice president of Nokia’s legal and intellectual property division, said in October.
In Apple’s countersuit, their general counsel Bruce Sewell said: “Other companies must compete with us by inventing their own technologies, not just by stealing ours.”
So there you have it, everyone is suing each other and it’s getting to the point where it’s like a classroom of brats who are unable to get along. They could settle out of the courts and act like adults, or accept the courts judgement which could go either way for any of the companies.
Image Source: Reuters