According to a recent tweet from the Germany press, the Düsseldorf Regional Court (say it out loud, feel the joy flow throw your morning) has upheld the preliminary injunction against Samsung that finds the company’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 to be too similar to Apple’s iPad intellectual property. No Tabs can be sold in Germany as long as the injunction stands.
Samsung has a few options here, according to FOSS Patents; Samsung could appeal Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf (say it! out loud!), a higher court that could overturn the decision with in months. Or they could engage in a full-blown lawsuit, which could take as much as a year to play out.
Either way, Germany, no Tab 10.1 for you, for now (the Tab 7 is still fair game, but no need to punish yourselves). The question now becomes if this is a European outlier or a harbinger. [FOSS Patents]
Kroo
Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 8:41 AMSamsung, the copyist king gets what it deserves. It copied Sony for decades, and got away with it, they copied Nokias phone and got away with it, now karma has come home. Before the iPad, previous tablet attempts looked nothing like it. Some had handles, some had detachable keyboards, some had flip screens, and some had dozens of buttons. The galaxy was just another rip off. Show me one original Samsung device and I’ll shut the fuck up. A rectangular tablet with black bazeel and home screen with apps in grid formation. That’s what apple did and have a right to protect. Let Samsung innovate something for a change!
Markk
Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 8:58 AMiDiot
Adam
Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 9:29 AMI guess it really depends on what you mean by ‘copy’.
My laptop has a keyboard, scree, i5 etc its pretty much the same to another up laptop out there, besides it is an Acer.
I dont think its copying at all. They have similarities, just like laptops or pianos have similarities with other laptops or pianos.
These patent wars are silly.
Lachlan
Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 5:10 PMWhat you re describing are functions of the os which remain same from computer to computer that run on windows. There is a difference here and that is about the actual form factor and not the features. The front colour is similar, the bezel is approx the same size and there are many other things which make them look similar. Remember they are not suing them because they have a bezel, they are suing them because the bezel is a similar size.
Steve
Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 6:04 PMThe aspect ratio is different, the camera is in a different position, the backing material is now plastic, the OS looks completely different.
Apple cannot have patented the bezel because bezels will always exist to provide gripping surface without activating the screen. Check the pre-iPad Archos tablet link I’ve provided.
Mike
Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 9:34 AMWhat do you expect tablets to be besides rectangular? Circle? Square? Triangle?
Mike
Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 9:40 AMMost of the ideas came from the Linux OS platform, which was opensource.
Steve
Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 6:01 PM“Before the iPad, previous tablet attempts looked nothing like it. Some had handles, some had detachable keyboards, some had flip screens, and some had dozens of buttons.”
O RLY?
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/26439/archos-android-tablet-device-inbound
Lachlan
Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 11:29 AMThat looks nothing like an iPad.
Ozoneocean
Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 6:08 PMActually many, many, many tablets were exactly like that. The Crunchpad/joojoo which came out just before is a great example.
There were many other designs in the concept phase too.
Another great example is the tablets made by Sahara.
There is nothing about the ipads which were unique or innovative in form or function, they were a simple tech iteration of an established concept with small improvements the way that happens routinely with ALL tech.
The German courts are obviously overseen by judges who’re out of touch technologically, but that’s hardly so surprising since as you’ve evidenced, most of the general public is too.
Joel
Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 7:23 PMTHANKYOU so much. Finally someone who thinks the same way as I do, no I’m not a ‘fanboy’ or an ‘iDiot’ but I think it is so unfair that other companies can blatantly copy a design right after it was made popular by Apple, and then say ‘well what other design could we have? ect.’
Cheshire Cat
Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 8:00 PMExcept as many showed they didn’t blatantly copy apple. Many… Get that MANY companies were making similar looking products before apple (including samsung with their digital photo frames) so how can they possibly own any patent on look and feel?
And you last point. What other design could it have? Do you want a circle with no edge and a camera into middle of the screen? iDiot
typedmillepede
Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 1:49 PMcan we please remember that the galaxy tab 10.1 was released weeks before the ipad 2. when the ipad 2 came out the galaxy tab was deemed to be not good enough, so samsung redesigned it to make it better/ more like an ipad 2. if apple were having a go at samsung just for kicks they wouldve done more. this how suing thing is literally because samsung saw apples new thing and copied it.
Steve
Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 8:15 PMKroo, Joel, BenDTU, Jesster
^Expect more quality entertainment from these winners.
BenDTU
Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 11:50 PMNah, I’m good.
Lachlan
Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 11:25 AMWell, it could have an edge to edge screen, it could have a different shade of black, it could have a different shaped camera, it could have a different sized bezel… Call me a ‘iDiot’ but that’s caus there’s really not much else you can say.
Steve
Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 4:36 PM-Edge-to-edge screen: Completely impractical beecause 1) You need a gripping surface without activating the screen and 2) In the case of handsets, you need microphone/speaker on the surface
-Different shade of black: AHhahaha. Oh god, I’m getting Spinal Tap vibes from this winner. Black is Black.
-Different shaped camera. 100% of the camera lenses in the world are circular. You want them to change it up to avoid looking like the iPad? Really? Putting it on the lengthwise side isn’t enough?
Yes, you’re an iDiot because you’re not even offering reasonable points. You say the Galaxy Tab looks too much like the iPad, but that Archos Tablet that predated the iPad for the better part of the year doesn’t resemble it? It’s black, has a similar bezel, but apparently Apple’s not capable of copying. It’s only a one-way street. What hypocrisy.
BenDTU
Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 9:22 PMDon’t bother. We’re ‘iDiots’ because we don’t want the same thing he wants in a product, and therefore everyone who isn’t him is wrong.
Jonathan
Monday, September 12, 2011 at 7:37 PMI can’t believe people are standing up for Apple, I’ve got rid of all my Apple devices at home now due to their very poor attitude and I’ve said I will never buy an Apple product again (Yes I’ve had iPhones, was recently offered an iPad2 through work (turned it down out of principle) and was looking at a Mac notebook for Christmas this year but no longer!
The fact is Apple did not invent the tablet, they did not invent the mobile phone neither did they invent the notebook… I’ve read they are not getting patents out on TV technologies so it would seem they are in the game of getting patents and seeking legal action against companies (even though the technology was not invented by them… this is CRAZY and how our legal systems allow it is a joke in its self but I guess when a company has that much spare money and a legal/patent team working around the clock…. Sigh…. What a crap time it’s going to stunt growth and we are going to be the ones to suffer in the end (the consumers)…
Get a backbone and stop supporting these idiots no matter how good their products may be…