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ultima on 27 August 2012
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famousringo said:
ultima said:
famousringo said:

1. And Samsung took those steps in their press and marketing materials. What does that tell you about Samsung's intent?

2. Yes, you can:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_patent

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_dress

3. So far, the entire US legal system from the patent office to the nine jurors in this case disagrees with you.

4. If anybody owns patents on those technologies, they certainly deserve their day in court.

1. Like I said, that's irrelevant. Besides, a grid of icons on a black background seems like patentable idea to you? Physically, the Galaxy S was very different from iPhone too. Have you ever held one in your hand? It was much larger and thinner than the 3GS. And the materials used felt noticeably different. 

2. Okay, my bad. But Apple should've never been granted a patent for such an obvious and unoriginal design. How about LG, Sony, Samsung each suing and countersuing each other because their TV's look pretty much the same?

3. If you do a quick search for yourself, you'll find that they didn't indeed invent those things.

4. Screw the broken (or at the very least disgustingly inefficient) patent laws and give me an answer that you think is fair. Should Apple be fined billions for copying things from Android? My answer is no. Because everyone benefits from the idea of "borrow and improve". These lawsuits have to stop. Apple is by far the greatest culprit here, and if they stop, I'm sure everyone will drop their countersuits against them. They really are hurting innovation.


1. It absolutely is relevant. Samsung is accused of essentially stealing Apple's designs to make fake iPhones, not unlike a watchmaker making fake Rolexes or an automaker making fake Porche 911s. Samsung made a UI not just with a grid, but with the same 4 x 4 grid, with a dock below that, with a similar page indicator. Then they filled that grid with icons that have similar shapes and colours to Apple's icons. They framed that UI with hardware that had a similar speaker grille, a similar home button, and a nearly identical metal frame around it. There are a lot of touchscreen phones being made with grids and rounded corners, but Samsung is the only one being sued by Apple, because they're the only one which has gone out of its way to copy Apple designs, to make Touchwiz Android more like iOS. Samsung makes sure their work is highlighted in their marketing materials because that's the point of selling knock offs.

2. To qualify as trade dress, attributes of a product must be found to be "distinctive". Obviously what qualifies as "distinctive" and what attributes violate that distinctiveness is murky, that's why these things get argued in a court of law. If TV manufacturers think their distinctive designs are being violated to a competitors advantage, of course they also deserve their day in court.

3. I don't need to do a quick search. USPTO issued the patents, and those patents have been tested in the court of law and found valid (so far). What more proof could Apple possibly have that they did invent such technologies? Sorry, the law has more authority on this matter than raging internet nerds.

4. My answer stands. If Google wants to bring a lawsuit to Apple over patents it holds that it feels Apple ripped off, of course it's entitled to do so. Oh look, it just has. Now Apple faces the same choice Samsung did. It can decide to stop infringing and settle or it can decide to keep infringing and fight it in court.

1. First of all, heard of Ruf Autos? There's a "fake Porsche" for you.

So now the Galaxy S was a fake iPhone? Seriously dude? If Samsung wanted to fool people like you're trying to say, they'd make something out of the same material, and perhaps of the same size. Like I said, the Galaxy S was quite a bit larger and quite a bit thinner than the 3GS. Even if you scale the two phones to the same size, there are quite a few differences. First of all there is no front camera on the 3GS. The middle button is different. The grill is at a different position. There's a conspicous SAMSUNG logo. Etc. The only true physical resemblence is in the silver bezel. And the UI similarities are not as dramatic as you're professing. All Androids have a dock. The page indicators are at a different position, and on the S there is actually a page number. 4x4 grid is due to the screen resolution and icon size. All Androids of the time had 4x4 spaces on screens. Icon shapes are different (besides, seriously icon shapes?); no rounded corners on the S, and the designs are substantially different; plus, Galaxy S icons have solid colour backgrounds. Samsung is not the only one being sued. They have lawsuits against pretty much every Android manufacturer out there. I really hate to go into such a detailed analysis of something irrelevant (and it is irrelevant regardless of your feelings), but it seems like you're seeing a carbon copy.

2. When was the last time you stepped into an tech store? The point was that pretty much all TV's look the same. They're not suing each other, because it's unreasonable to expect competition to come up with something other than that classic TV shape. Same here. There's nothing specifically distinct about the iPhone design. Plus, as much as I hate to keep repeating myself, the size differences between the two phones are tremendous.

3. That shows that you're not willing to look at evidence. I really don't want to lubricate your throat and spoon feed you, but it seems like that's what you need done. Here's the proof that Apple indeed did not invent those two things you were talking about:

http://www.androidcentral.com/apple-granted-patent-slide-unlock-even-though-it-existed-2-years-they-invented-it

http://www.theverge.com/2012/8/15/3244581/samsung-expert-apple-bounce-back-patent-invalid

Good enough for you? Google's your friend if you need more info.

And like previously stated in this thread, one of the dudes of the jury is actually a funny guy with his apple-esque patent. Don't have so much faith in the righteousness of this jury.

4. You're still not answering my question. Forget about patents. Apple copied the notifications from Android. It was Android's invention, and Apple copied it. Should such behaviour be banned somehow? Just answer this as a consumer.

And I'm aware of the other lawsuits going on. Like I said, "these lawsuits have to stop". I also said that Apple is the biggest culprit and that them dropping these ridiculous accusations will be followed by others doing the same.