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Some more details: http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/2011/08/preliminary-injunction-granted-by.html http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/2011/08/preliminary-injuncti..

by ugh 15y ago

Some more details: http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/2011/08/preliminary-injunction-granted-by.html http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/2011/08/preliminary-injuncti... No patent or trademark is the culprit but rather the design (as in: look) of the enclosure. Above article does link to this document: http://www.scribd.com/doc/61944044/Community-Design-000181607-0001 http://www.scribd.com/doc/61944044/Community-Design-00018160... That’s called a community design, it’s an EU thing, here is the Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_design http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_design This article deals a bit more with community designs and especially the concept of the “informed user” that is somewhat central to them: http://www.linklaters.com/Publications/Publication1392Newsletter/July_2011/Pages/EU_Designs_Informed_User_Defind.aspx http://www.linklaters.com/Publications/Publication1392Newsle... Here are images of the current iPad: http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/ http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/ Here are images of the Galaxy Tab 10.1: http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxytab/10.1/spec.html http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxytab/10.1/spec.... (My personal opinion? It seems absurd to me that you can protect something vague like this. The Galaxy Tab and the iPad seem sufficiently different to me as to not cause consumer confusion.)

arron61 15y ago
This is ridiculous. They are suing over a rectangular shape and a certain size / weight? So I guess only Apple can make a thin tablet. Any other one will be an infringement... Can Ssamsung sue all other TV makers since they are all rectangular, with a bezel, and is flat? They all look too similar to Samsung TVs!
- siglesias 15y ago
  Are rectangular shape, size and weight the only similarities you can find? Check out the side by sides: http://thisismynext.com/2011/04/19/apple-sues-samsung-analysis/ http://thisismynext.com/2011/04/19/apple-sues-samsung-analys... I'm sure you could hire a creative team to come up with 100 iterations of tablets and icons (as I'm sure Apple did) that would look nothing like an iPad. In light of those 100 the similarities would look more apparent than ever.
  - ugh 15y ago
    This doesn’t seem to be about the software at all, only the look of the enclosure. (Also: You are linking to an article about phones.)
    - siglesias 15y ago
      The assumption is that if Samsung's design heuristic with the iPhone competitor (as linked to) was to copy, then I see no reason why their heuristic would be different on the tablet. As it is, my point regarding the level of similarity between the Tab and iPad still holds--it's not simply a matter of shape, size, and weight; even if it were, where does the assumption come from that Apple's form factor for the iPad was obvious?
      - ugh 15y ago
        This lawsuit, however, seems to be only about the general shape. It doesn’t make much sense to say that the result of a lawsuit about the shape is justified because of the software or other factors unrelated to the shape. As for obviousness, let me submit exhibit A, used in 1994: http://de.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Datei:Plan_des_Arboretums.jpg http://de.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Datei:Plan_des_Arboretums.jp...
        siglesias 15y ago
        This doesn't resemble an iPad to me, and even if it did the obscurity of the source nullifies any claim to obviousness. You know, at some level of abstraction you can show that any two designs are the same, but I think the level of abstraction you have chosen goes too far and doesn't get at the essence of the claim.
        ugh 15y ago
        Shrug The Galaxy Tab 10.1 doesn’t resemble an iPad to me. You know, at some level of abstraction you can show that any two designs are the same, but I think the level of abstraction you have chosen goes too far.
smokeyj 15y ago
When did the notion of copying being evil become so mainstream? Copying should be culturally commendable in my opinion.. but maybe that's why I'm not a central planner.
- dpark 15y ago
  How long have people been whining that Windows copied the Mac or vice versa? It's not a new thing. Personally, I think there's some reasonable situations in which a company can say "you're trying to copy us to confuse customers and this is a real problem." This isn't one of those situations, though.
  - smokeyj 15y ago
    > "you're trying to copy us to confuse customers and this is a real problem." Who is this a "problem" for? The multi-national corporation looking for a legal monopoly, or the consumer? Are consumers do dumb they won't notice that their tablet says SAMSUNG instead of APPLE? Doubt it.
    - dpark 15y ago
      > Are consumers do dumb they won't notice that their tablet says SAMSUNG instead of APPLE? Doubt it. I'm pretty certain that I said this isn't one of those situations.
  - erikpukinskis 15y ago
    How long have people been whining that Windows copied the Mac or vice versa? It's not a new thing. Calling out copying to cut the copier down to size is one thing... it's about giving credit where credit was due. But suing a company into submission is a whole other bag. I think Apple is being unethical here. They've made great contributions to tech, but we all are standing on the shoulders of not just giants, but millions of tiny innovators who've contributed their work along the way. I mean... decent chunks of Apple's software are not just inspired, but are literally copied, as in "cp -r konqueror/src/engine webkit/src".
funkah 15y ago
Given that patents are not at issue here, it's worth noting that software patent reform would not prevent something like this from happening.
runT1ME 15y ago
Couldn't I theoretically manufacture a bunch of differently designed crappy tablets that barely work, but may have the shape/aesthetics that future ipads may move to? Seems to me this law would be easily exploited. Instead of a patent portfolio, people would come up with product design portfolios...

by ugh 15y ago

arron61 15y ago

This is ridiculous. They are suing over a rectangular shape and a certain size / weight? So I guess only Apple can make a thin tablet. Any other one will be an infringement... Can Ssamsung sue all other TV makers since they are all rectangular, with a bezel, and is flat? They all look too similar to Samsung TVs!

siglesias 15y ago
Are rectangular shape, size and weight the only similarities you can find? Check out the side by sides: http://thisismynext.com/2011/04/19/apple-sues-samsung-analysis/ http://thisismynext.com/2011/04/19/apple-sues-samsung-analys... I'm sure you could hire a creative team to come up with 100 iterations of tablets and icons (as I'm sure Apple did) that would look nothing like an iPad. In light of those 100 the similarities would look more apparent than ever.
- ugh 15y ago
  This doesn’t seem to be about the software at all, only the look of the enclosure. (Also: You are linking to an article about phones.)
  - siglesias 15y ago
    The assumption is that if Samsung's design heuristic with the iPhone competitor (as linked to) was to copy, then I see no reason why their heuristic would be different on the tablet. As it is, my point regarding the level of similarity between the Tab and iPad still holds--it's not simply a matter of shape, size, and weight; even if it were, where does the assumption come from that Apple's form factor for the iPad was obvious?
    - ugh 15y ago
      This lawsuit, however, seems to be only about the general shape. It doesn’t make much sense to say that the result of a lawsuit about the shape is justified because of the software or other factors unrelated to the shape. As for obviousness, let me submit exhibit A, used in 1994: http://de.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Datei:Plan_des_Arboretums.jpg http://de.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Datei:Plan_des_Arboretums.jp...
      - siglesias 15y ago
        This doesn't resemble an iPad to me, and even if it did the obscurity of the source nullifies any claim to obviousness. You know, at some level of abstraction you can show that any two designs are the same, but I think the level of abstraction you have chosen goes too far and doesn't get at the essence of the claim.
        ugh 15y ago
        Shrug The Galaxy Tab 10.1 doesn’t resemble an iPad to me. You know, at some level of abstraction you can show that any two designs are the same, but I think the level of abstraction you have chosen goes too far.

smokeyj 15y ago

When did the notion of copying being evil become so mainstream? Copying should be culturally commendable in my opinion.. but maybe that's why I'm not a central planner.

dpark 15y ago
How long have people been whining that Windows copied the Mac or vice versa? It's not a new thing. Personally, I think there's some reasonable situations in which a company can say "you're trying to copy us to confuse customers and this is a real problem." This isn't one of those situations, though.
- smokeyj 15y ago
  > "you're trying to copy us to confuse customers and this is a real problem." Who is this a "problem" for? The multi-national corporation looking for a legal monopoly, or the consumer? Are consumers do dumb they won't notice that their tablet says SAMSUNG instead of APPLE? Doubt it.
  - dpark 15y ago
    > Are consumers do dumb they won't notice that their tablet says SAMSUNG instead of APPLE? Doubt it. I'm pretty certain that I said this isn't one of those situations.
- erikpukinskis 15y ago
  How long have people been whining that Windows copied the Mac or vice versa? It's not a new thing. Calling out copying to cut the copier down to size is one thing... it's about giving credit where credit was due. But suing a company into submission is a whole other bag. I think Apple is being unethical here. They've made great contributions to tech, but we all are standing on the shoulders of not just giants, but millions of tiny innovators who've contributed their work along the way. I mean... decent chunks of Apple's software are not just inspired, but are literally copied, as in "cp -r konqueror/src/engine webkit/src".

funkah 15y ago

Given that patents are not at issue here, it's worth noting that software patent reform would not prevent something like this from happening.

runT1ME 15y ago

Couldn't I theoretically manufacture a bunch of differently designed crappy tablets that barely work, but may have the shape/aesthetics that future ipads may move to? Seems to me this law would be easily exploited. Instead of a patent portfolio, people would come up with product design portfolios...