Apple Sues Samsung in Japan over iPad and iPhone Patents

meh can we have a patent news filter. this isnt even a "rumor" and makes me tempted to buy a samsung more and more.

- sent from my iPhone 5

Apple recently won a preliminary injunction against the sale and promotion of the Galaxy Tab 7.7 in Germany.

Erm, a preliminary injunction in Germany is granted without hearing the defendant or checking the application beyond just having a probability of success. So Apple won nothing and in case of failing in the main hearing they may well face pretty steep compensations for damages.

The more and more this happens, the more and more I feel that Apple's "new" phone (whenever it releases this year will look like a type of "samsung" phone

Well. yeah.

If Samsung is copying an Apple design then surely anything Apple now produce will look like Samsung stuff.

Is the Galaxy that much of a threat?

Or is this a warning shot for every tablet maker out there?

It doesn't have to be _much_ of a threat. If 100,000 people buy a Samsung tablet instead of an iPad, that is maybe $60 million in revenue and $20 million in profit lost for Apple. I wouldn't call it a threat to Apple, but worth suing over.

And there are plenty of tablets for sale that do _not_ look anything like iPads. And if you go to a store selling TVs from multiple manufacturers, you can easily spot which ones are made by Samsung - they can make quite nice stuff when they don't think they have to copy the market leader, and their TVs _do_ look quite different from others.

Apple v. eMachines

eMachines lost because their computer looked very much like the design patents that Apple had for the iMac. eMachines had design patents themselves for all-on-one computers. They got these design patents before Apple showed the iMac. Accordingly they looked very much different from the iMac. And eMachines own product also looked nothing like their own design patents (which was just as well, because the computer in their design patents always reminded me of a teddy bear with big ears).

Is the Galaxy that much of a threat?

Or is this a warning shot for every tablet maker out there?

the samsung galaxy s2 is probably doing too well for them overseas. but who can blame the customer if they take over 1,5 years to even announce a new iPhone

the only thing in MacRumors now is iPhone 5 rumours and apple vs. sangsung rumours

How can you copy natural looking aesthetics?

I mean rectangle with button in the middle is hardly a patent is it?

Apple you have nothing here....just keep making a better product and dont look back.....

Because Apple's designs are typically very simple and minimalist, they're much more prone to similar designs appearing on the market. IMO, it SHOULD be much harder to protect/patent a simple, basic design like the iPad's (or Samsung Tab's or Samsung picture frame's) than a more quirky, stylised design.

I'm so over this! The whole world knows that apple did the pad (successfully) first. Let's move on and innovate with the iPad3 or iPhone5.

This tit for tat is just detracting from Apple's brand image now.

Outside of tech blogs? I don't think many people know about this or care.

Anyway, isn't this basically the same lawsuit just being filed in different countries? Not like it's anything "new".

How can you copy natural looking aesthetics?

I mean rectangle with button in the middle is hardly a patent is it?

Apple you have nothing here....just keep making a better product and dont look back.....

I'm so over this! The whole world knows that apple did the pad (successfully) first. Let's move on and innovate with the iPad3 or iPhone5.

This tit for tat is just detracting from Apple's brand image now.

No it isn't. The average consumer barely notices this, nor do they care. They aren't exactly clamouring for iPad alternatives, either.