Sent from BlackBerry® on phone network. Ronald's EmaiL -----Original Message----- From: MeLinda MeLisa <[email protected]> Sender: [email protected] Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2011 09:02:13 To: <[email protected]> Reply-To: [email protected] Subject: [StockForex] Apple: Samsung Slavishly Copied Our Design Apple: Samsung Slavishly Copied Our Design www.MarketCall.net - April 19, 2011 Apple Sues Samsung Electronics Over 'Galaxy' Phone, Tab SAN FRANCISCO -- Apple Inc. (AAPL) filed a lawsuit claiming Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (005930.SE, SSNHY) copied the look and feel of its popular iPhone smartphones and iPad tablet computers, the latest in a series of legal skirmishes that underscore the increasingly high stakes of the mobile computing market. The lawsuit, filed on April 15, alleged that Samsung's smartphones, including the "Galaxy S 4G," "Epic 4G," "Nexus S" and its "Galaxy Tab" touchscreen tablet, violate Apple's intellectual property. The 38-page lawsuit was filed in the U.S. court's northern California district. "Rather than innovate and develop its own technology and a unique Samsung style for its smart phone products and computer tablets, Samsung chose to copy Apple's technology, user interface and innovative style in these infringing products," Apple said in the filing. A Samsung representative said the company's development of core technology and intellectual property were key to its continued success. "Samsung will respond actively to this legal action taken against us through appropriate legal measures to protect our intellectual property," said Kim Titus, a Richardson, Texas-based spokesman for the company's telecommunications unit. The lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal battles among technology giants following the rapid sales growth of smartphones and touchscreen tablet computers. Apple has become the object of many lawsuits from numerous companies, including Eastman Kodak Co. (EK) and Nokia Corp. (NOK), that claim the consumer electronics giant violated their intellectual property in its hit products. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company has also filed lawsuits against competitors, such as Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (MMI) and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN). The lawsuit is likely to complicate the relationship between the two consumer electronics giants. Samsung makes microchips that are used in some Apple products, such as the A4 and A5 processors, as well as memory chips used in the MacBook Pro computer line. In its suit against Samsung, Apple alleges that in addition to using its technology designs, Samsung also borrowed from its aesthetic. In the lawsuit, Apple displayed side-by-side images of its products and the Samsung equivalents. Apple said Samsung's application icons also borrowed from Apple's design. Apple said Samsung imitated its packaging, using a square box with metallic silver lettering, among other things. The company said Samsung's Galaxy Tab was "slavishly" copied to incorporate the look and feel of the iPad's software, as well as the device's packaging and the bezel border around the screen. "It's no coincidence that Samsung's latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging," Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said. "This kind of blatant copying is wrong and we need to protect Apple's intellectual property when companies steal our ideas. == Apple: Samsung Copied Design == Apple Inc. sued rival Samsung Electronics Co., claiming its Galaxy cellphones and tablet "slavishly" copied Apple's iPhone and iPad, in another sign of the escalating intellectual-property tensions in the mobile market. Apple's lawsuit, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court of Northern California, alleges that Samsung copied the look, product design, packaging and user interface of its products, violating its patents and trademarks. "Rather than innovate and develop its own technology and a unique Samsung style for its smart phone products and computer tablets, Samsung chose to copy," Apple said in its 38-page suit. The lawsuit shows side-by-side comparisons of the Apple iPhone 3GS model, released in June 2009, and the Galaxy S i9000 model, released in March 2010. Apple also showed photos and images that pointed out similarities in the two companies' packaging and icons for software applications such as music, phone, texting, and contacts. "This kind of blatant copying is wrong," Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said in a statement. A Samsung spokesman said the company will "actively" respond to the lawsuit. "Samsung's development of core technologies and strengthening our intellectual property portfolio are keys to our continued success," the spokesman said. The lawsuit is the latest legal swipe in the competitive smartphone and tablet markets, showing how high the stakes have become. Apple's iPhone dominated smartphones for several years, but is being overtaken in unit sales by rivals' phones, like the Samsung devices named in the suit, that run on Google Inc.'s Android operating system. Research firm IDC expects the smartphone market to grow more than 49% in 2011 from 303.4 million units in 2010. In tablets, Apple is expected to dominate the market through 2015 according to Gartner Inc., but is facing increasing competition from other companies. Apple is also embroiled in legal battles with companies such as HTC Corp., Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Nokia Corp. and Eastman Kodak Co. over products such as smartphones and software, some of whom it has sued and some of whom it has been sued by. Apple is also in a legal dispute with Microsoft Corp., which is challenging Apple's trademark for the term "app store." "It's another arrow in their [Apple's] quiver to slow down their closest competitor," said Edward Snyder, an analyst for Charter Equity Research in San Francisco, referring to the suit against Samsung. Mr. Snyder said he expected the two companies to eventually settle. The lawsuit is likely to further complicate the relationship between the two consumer electronics giants. Samsung makes microchips that are used in some Apple products as well as memory chips used in the MacBook Pro computer line. But it is also becoming a strong competitor in mobile devices. Samsung's Galaxy S smartphone is a popular device in global markets, shipping 10 million as of January. The Galaxy Tab device, meanwhile, has been touted as the strongest rival to the iPad during last year's holiday season. Intellectual property experts said the suit is reminiscent of the legal battles between Apple, Microsoft and Xerox Corp. over the user interface and design of personal computers. "It's deja vu all over again," said Dan Burk, a professor at the University of California Irvine School of Law. But while those battles were largely over copyright, this time the battles are over trademark and patents. Mr. Burk said the challenge for Apple in its trademark arguments will be to override defendants' possible defense that features were similar because of functional necessity. In its patent claims, there will likely be a question of the validity of the patents themselves, he said. Alan Fisch, an attorney with Kaye Scholer LLP in Washington D.C., said, "By sheer volume alone, this is a substantial assertion of intellectual property rights." He added that Apple's request for a preliminary injunction on the trademark aspect of the dispute could be ruled on within months
