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Although this demands we ask the question, "Is this bad?" It's sort of inevitable that popular designs will be mimic'd in the industry. Why is it bad, so long a

Although this demands we ask the question, "Is this bad?" It's sort of inevitable that popular designs will be mimic'd in the industry. Why is it bad, so long as Samsung retains a positive and strong branding so that they're not confusing people about who made the product? Samsung is not exactly a powerhouse of innovation, but they're part of a competitive ecosystem that we prefer to think drives innovation. Smaller companies come along with breakthroughs that bigger companies integrate. Said smaller companies need to continue to innovate and grow to be competitive; no one gets to just make one great invention and sit back laughing at the market. And isn't this exactly Apple's success story? Their last decade has been an unchecked rampage from market to market in the consumer electronics sphere, quickly toppling incumbents before moving on to another focus when it's clear there's no more low hanging fruit to extract from the markets dominated by sluggish competitors like Sony. But right now we've seen a series of reversals in the tablet and phone spaces as several other companies band together to try and compete directly. It's sort of amazing that Apple could only be matched in their current target by a massive federation stitched together by another of the most brilliant companies of the last decade, but it's sort of unsurprising that if EVERYONE else gangs up and tries to counter Apple, they might not be able to iPodify this particular market.

catch23 14y ago
I think it's bad if the average consumer cannot tell the difference between an Apple product and a Samsung product. Right now Samsung is trying hard to look like a cheaper apple product -- they have the same "white" apple stores with an equivalent genius bar (smart tutors), and they even reuse apple icons at their physical store wall paper (safari icons, etc). Their boxes and cables are identical to Apple's, they made their onscreen keyboard identical (same white/blue style -- even the shading is identical). Some of Samsung's products will even fit in 3rd party Apple addons that make use of the 30 pin dock. I honestly don't think a new consumer will be able to easily differentiate between the 2 products. My mom calls everything an ipad even if it's not -- I don't think she would know that she's buying a galaxy tablet and not an ipad. I don't think copying drives innovation. If cloning products drove innovation, we'd see a ton of China companies making innovative products, but most of them just clone some website in the US, slap on a few features, and that's it. The China company that cloned Impactjs pixel-per-pixel did not provide anything additional other than providing the same service at half the price. If Samsung wins here, it's basically setting a precedent for future companies to clone anything successful. We'll probably see a lot more Chinese companies cloning YC startups without worrying about lawsuits.
- tatsuke95 14y ago
  >"I think it's bad if the average consumer cannot tell the difference between an Apple product and a Samsung product." Apple just might be the strongest brand in history and is the most valuable corporation on the planet. Their products are must-haves. Are people really getting confused? Are people really going to settle for a "cheaper" brand, rather than the real thing? If that's true, it's astonishing.
  - ehosca 14y ago
    i don't consider _any_ Apple product as a "must-have".
- misterbee 14y ago
  > Some of Samsung's products will even fit in 3rd party Apple addons that make use of the 30 pin dock. In this particular point, Samsung is 100% in the right. Interoperability is one of the explicit justifications for copying. Vendor lock-in is nor protected by law, and is one of Apple's borderline-illegal monolopy-protecting tactics.
- stickfigure 14y ago
  If Samsung wins here... We'll probably see a lot more Chinese companies cloning YC startups without worrying about lawsuits. You assume: * That there is a law which prevents startups from being cloned. * That Chinese companies would care about such a law even if it existed. * That a YC startup could do anything about it even if the prior two points were affirmative. You're 0 for 3.
  - gcb 14y ago
    > you're 0 of 3 But the jury still thinks you own 2million
- icebraining 14y ago
  I don't think copying drives innovation. If cloning products drove innovation, we'd see a ton of China companies making innovative products KirinDave's point wasn't that cloners innovate themselves, but that they force others to keep innovating to stay in ahead of the pack.

catch23 14y ago

I think it's bad if the average consumer cannot tell the difference between an Apple product and a Samsung product. Right now Samsung is trying hard to look like a cheaper apple product -- they have the same "white" apple stores with an equivalent genius bar (smart tutors), and they even reuse apple icons at their physical store wall paper (safari icons, etc). Their boxes and cables are identical to Apple's, they made their onscreen keyboard identical (same white/blue style -- even the shading is identical). Some of Samsung's products will even fit in 3rd party Apple addons that make use of the 30 pin dock. I honestly don't think a new consumer will be able to easily differentiate between the 2 products. My mom calls everything an ipad even if it's not -- I don't think she would know that she's buying a galaxy tablet and not an ipad. I don't think copying drives innovation. If cloning products drove innovation, we'd see a ton of China companies making innovative products, but most of them just clone some website in the US, slap on a few features, and that's it. The China company that cloned Impactjs pixel-per-pixel did not provide anything additional other than providing the same service at half the price. If Samsung wins here, it's basically setting a precedent for future companies to clone anything successful. We'll probably see a lot more Chinese companies cloning YC startups without worrying about lawsuits.

tatsuke95 14y ago
>"I think it's bad if the average consumer cannot tell the difference between an Apple product and a Samsung product." Apple just might be the strongest brand in history and is the most valuable corporation on the planet. Their products are must-haves. Are people really getting confused? Are people really going to settle for a "cheaper" brand, rather than the real thing? If that's true, it's astonishing.
- ehosca 14y ago
  i don't consider _any_ Apple product as a "must-have".
misterbee 14y ago
> Some of Samsung's products will even fit in 3rd party Apple addons that make use of the 30 pin dock. In this particular point, Samsung is 100% in the right. Interoperability is one of the explicit justifications for copying. Vendor lock-in is nor protected by law, and is one of Apple's borderline-illegal monolopy-protecting tactics.
stickfigure 14y ago
If Samsung wins here... We'll probably see a lot more Chinese companies cloning YC startups without worrying about lawsuits. You assume: * That there is a law which prevents startups from being cloned. * That Chinese companies would care about such a law even if it existed. * That a YC startup could do anything about it even if the prior two points were affirmative. You're 0 for 3.
- gcb 14y ago
  > you're 0 of 3 But the jury still thinks you own 2million
icebraining 14y ago
I don't think copying drives innovation. If cloning products drove innovation, we'd see a ton of China companies making innovative products KirinDave's point wasn't that cloners innovate themselves, but that they force others to keep innovating to stay in ahead of the pack.