Apple just spent a week methodically making the case that Samsung ripped off its patents and trademarks for the design of its smartphones and tablets. It was reasonably convincing to an uneducated observer, but it’s ultimately in the hands of the legal system. Are you ready for Samsung’s brilliant defence? “Actually, Apple stole it from us”.
On Monday, Samsung tried to refute Apple’s claim over pinch-to-zoom technology. How? By claiming it already existed on a weird Mitsubishi product called Diamond Touch. As you can see in the video above, Diamond Touch basically consists of a display projected onto a large table that you then interact with in a variety of ways using your hands. Amongst the many gestures is one which resembles pinch-to-zoom.
But it seems Samsung’s argument is based on an ambiguity that’s just not there. Because Apple’s technology existed in broad, conceptual forms in other places, Apple can’t lay claim to it. Except that what’s really at issue here is Apple’s specific implementations of these technologies and — more importantly — its ownership over that intellectual property. [San Jose Mercury News via Fortune via BGR]