Samsung vs. Apple Court Battle-Royale

Surprised nobody posted about this here. Things are getting slow lately without any "fanboys" to stir the pot The trial is wrapping up this week, I believe. For those who haven't heard, just Google "apple samsung trial", you'll see Apple is suing Samsung for alleged copyright violations and generally copying the iPhone design to the tune of $2.5 billion. :lmao::loony::googlyeye

Personally, I have seen both phones, and they have pretty much zero similarities. I've seen some details Apple brought up in court, and to me they look ridiculous. Pretty much all phones have some similar features. All laptops as well. If you covered the logo on any phone or laptop, I'm not sure I could definitively tell you who made it. But these are kind of the silly things the lawyers are nit-picking in the court room. And the judge seems to be getting sick of it as well, with today's "you're smoking crack" comment to an Apple lawyer

Anyway, I'm kind of shocked this crap made it into a courtroom int he first place, but hey it is a California courtroom, and hey, it is Apple, so... who knows, it's a crap shoot. The judge advised Apple and Samsung lawyers to hash something out between themselves, but nothing doing, snakes and sharks don't play well together.

The trial is wrapping up soon, should be interesting to see the outcome. The last high-profile California trial I watched was the OJ trial, so I have no doubt justice will be served...or severed...whatever...

 

I agree. With this lawsuit, Apple is in effect biting the hand that feeds them. Samsung is already beyond irritated. The main reason the iPhone 5 is not in stores yet is because either Samsung is not delivering the parts they need, or Apple is looking for another supplier, but that's not quite so simple I would guess.

Here's an article about it:
Is Apple's Samsung Lawsuit Behind the iPhone 5 Release Delay? - International Business Times

 

That's why you're comical, and moody, Dan.

 

The author has a good point. Apple's marketing of an iPad/iPhone is that it's "unique and better" than the rest. But in the courtroom, Apple goes thru great pains to point out how identical the Samsung Galaxy phone/tablet is to their product. C'mon, you can't have it both ways

 

On the one hand, it looks like a short-term victory for Apple: $1 billion in hand and scaring Google that they will go after them next.
On the other hand, the court rulings in other cases have been half-half, so I don't think Apple will get a KO every time. Plus Google holds alot of patents themselves after acquiring Motorola. So a long-term courtroom battle will probably result in a break-even. Well, the lawyers will win, as they always get paid win or lose. And customers will ultimately lose, as prices will rise to cover cost of the lawyers.

Also, in the short-term, Apple is already to suffer repercussions, as Samsung is the world leader in screen production, and Apple has burned that bridge. If iPhone 5 isn't able to meet demand because of screen delays or problems, Apple could easily lose the $1 billion they just won. In other short-term news, Nokia/Microsoft and RIM/Blackberry got a boost from the lawsuit as well, as any negative news about Android is in their favor.

So, really, there's so many dynamics, it's hard to say if this $1 billion was really a victory for Apple, or them backing themselves into a corner.

 

Actually, I'm surprised Sony isn't suing Apple, considering the iPhone design looks strikingly similar to some of their designs. Samsung tried to enter this into court, but was refused for some reason:



DailyTech - Samsung: Apple's iPhone Started as Sony Ripoff

 

Here it is. Nokia holds alot of LTE patents as well and I'm sure wouldn't mind taking a shot at Apple to see how much they can shake them down for, so Samsung may need to take a number when it comes to suing Apple
Samsung threatens to sue Apple if LTE device is released, report says - Tech Talk - CBS News

Apple is also now going to try to ban the Samsung Galaxy III phone, even tho it wasn't included in the lawsuit confused. I guess they just simply want to target a current and hot selling phone. Ironically, it's given the Galaxy III more press and buzz driving sales higher:

Apple Targets Galaxy S III, Note in Latest Legal Action | PCWorld

I think karma is going to catch up with Apple very quickly :wink: Once a company stops innovating and needs to punch successful competitors below the belt to stay on top, it's a pretty bad sign...

 

Now Apple scored a court victory in Germany, and looks like Motorola will have to recall their products because of a bouncing scroll feature. Give me a break :loony:

Motorola Mobility ordered to recall Android tablets and smartphones | Technology | guardian.co.uk

 

Motorola strikes back:

Motorola asks ITC to ban every Mac, iPad, and most iPhones | Ars Technica