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Apple Sues Samsung Over Galaxy Lineup’s Resemblance to iPhone

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When I first compiled my review of the Samsung Galaxy S last summer, one of my minor gripes with the device was it’s overwhelming resemblance to the iPhone. The silhouette of the device, it’s singular “home” button foregoing Android’s typical four, and a user interface looking a bit too Apple-inspired made the device feel like a knockoff in some ways. Don’t think Apple didn’t take notice. In a lawsuit filed April 15th, Apple is suing Samsung over “slavishly” copying the look and feel of the iPhone and iPad in their Galaxy lineup of Android devices.

Apple representative Kristing Huguet called the similarities between Galaxy devices and those using iOS “blatant,” while Samsung has yet to comment. This is not your typical patent lawsuit hinging on a small aspect or feature a phone offers. The Galaxy S 4G, Epic 4G, Galaxy Tab, and even the Nexus S are named. If Apple comes out on top, the implications could be big for Samsung, not to mention the payout Steve Jobs and company will surely demand.

[via Reuters]

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195 Comments

  1. Not going anywhere. Apple is just blowing smoke over Android popularity. Hopefully the courts don’t fuck this one up

    1. Honestly I’m glad this happened. The only reason ive held out on the galaxy s and galaxy s 2 is because its so damn iphonish. I HOPE this causes samsung to improve their design and move away from lookining like the iphone, Touchwiz included…

      1. Yeah, cuz it’s not like you can change how it looks…oh wait a minute…you can, it’s the iPhone you can’t customize. Moron.

        1. well maybe it’s the design of the hardware ?
          No that can’t be, stupid me

          1. The hardware is a clone of the LG Prada — both for Apple and Sammy.

            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LG_Prada

          2. Yeah, I’m waiting for LG to file a suite against everyone LOL!

        2. How does that change the way that touchwiz looks? Doesn’t really at all does it? Probably should think before calling others moron…

  2. Umm why did they name the Nexus S in this? It looks nothing like an iphone and the UI is pure Android.

    1. Because if they win that one in this batch they can go after Google.

  3. Just goes to show you that Apple is done and the only thing they will be doing in the future is try to sue everyone because they cannot be creative and come up with anything worth looking at any more. I am really happy that Apple hit the can. They did not help the economy with anything. I work in a office where over 100 users have a job because of Android. Apple is a sorry company. They are going down just like their CEO.

    1. Right…..a “sorry” company that makes almost twice as much from the iPhone alone as Google does from it’s entire company…..”sorry” indeed

      1. Pretty sad actually! Apple has at least a half a dozen lawsuits pending right now for BS just like this! I think that turtleneck is cutting off the blood to Steve Jobs brain!

      2. dang where did you pull that one out?
        but i have to agree with you, smicbelit is a clown.

      3. Trolio

      4. I’m personally not a fan of the look of the iphone nor the sgsII, but really its like complaining a chevy pickup looks too similar to a ford F150. Apple didn’t invent the 1st smartphone, and they all look relatively the same, some more so than others. I would understand if apple was complaining that someone copied their logo, but this is just stupid

      5. What’s sorry and also quite sad, is basing the merits of a company on their finances.

        I’ve been an Apple guy for decades and had to deal with the ignorance from PC only guys and thought that was bad, but I was wrong. What’s worse, is the overall level of DOUCHE that’s been brought on by these newer so-called Apple supporters, that prior to the iPhone, really didn’t care about this company.

        All that really matters, is who’s doing more good. At the moment it’s not Apple.

        1. You sound like one of those holier-than-thou sports fans who spew things like, “I supported the team when it was no good” as if that somehow makes you a better fan….screw you

          1. Sounds like he spotted you a mile off. . . just another iTool who thinks he’s somehow cool because he owns a fruity peace of tech. . . get a clue boy.

          2. IMO it does. I hate bandwagon, fair weather fans.

            If you a fan, be a fan when they are 1-15, 20 – 62, etc.

          3. Then so be it….would you keep buying cars from a dealer that broke down the moment u left the lot??? Hell no! Why do we treat sports any different???

          4. Ha, I hit a nerve. Nice retort! Speaking of holier-than-thou. You’re the one going by iKing and is obviously on some kind of crusade for iOS, so has registered on an “Android” site to defend Apple’s actions. Go figure.

      6. You can’t only compare how much Google is making off of Android. You have to consider all the money Android is generating for companies like HTC, Motorola, Samsung, LG, and the list goes on. They’re building an enormous market for many companies and thus an entrepreneurial platform that’s focused beyond just 1 company.

        1. And it still doesn’t add up to what Apple is making of the iPhone….

          1. Who cares? I only care about how good of a device I get and how much it costs me. I wan’t the best product at the best price and that isn’t anything Apple.

      7. I love hearing iFans use that moronic argument. Why would any consumer care how much a company makes and why would anyone go to the company they know has the highest markup.

        The only thing you confirm with that comment is that you are an idiot and a marketer’s wet dream = iSheep!

        1. As opposed to an aSheep!!!

          1. I take it your moronic comeback was to imply that anyone that buys and Android device is similar to an iSheep but again you fail to realize, people that buy Android like Windows or Linux have a choice and can buy from any manufacturer at a wide range of prices thus they are anything but a sheep. . . they must be an informed consumer = the opposite of you.

          2. Fine words coming from an AssHeap.

    2. i don’t care what anyone says, but Apple and their iPhones created lots of competition in the handset market. without them, who knows how far along Android might be. i mean, think about it. how many all touchscreen devices that worked well existed before the original iPhone came about? exactly…

      1. Now what are you talking about?
        There were tons of other smartphones that are still (in my opinion) better than the iPhone.

        1. The iPhone did popularise touchscreen based Smartphones. They were far from the first but their approach re-wrote the rule book – stylus-free touchscreen operation, always-on internet, simple and responsive UI. I don’t like the iPhone (and really hope this doesn’t hold up the SGS2) but it was something of a game changer.

          When companies switch from innovation to legislation, it generally means the end of their market position. The relentless march of time can’t be stopped and they risk losing focus. How did Apple’s last look-and-feel lawsuit go?

    3. The sad thing is that Samsung created the iPhone design for them….. What a bunch of sorry fucks. I hope Apple dies, iKing is an idiot! Android has been around 2 youears…. give it time and it will surpass the gross profit that apple receives from iPhone, not to mention that many companyies get a piece of the pie, They arent closed source like shitty gAypple

    4. I like cheese

    5. Their phone and UI is pretty much copied from iPhone. I’m not a fan of iDevices but lets be honest and fair however the nexus s is pure android and i’m wondering if they are just messing with Google by including that in the lawsuit.

      I’m surprised that there are so many android fans that liked the UI that is very similar to iPhone.

      Pure Stock Android FTW!!!!

      1. I’m surprised there are so many android fans in flat out denial…..but then again, so many of you were in denial about fragmentation until Google’s recent developments that saw them take back control of their OS pretty much admitted it….then again I’m not that surprised at all

        1. Let’s see, 4 phones, 4 iPods, 2 tablets and multiple variations of their iOS, and regular, HD and retina display. but that’s not fragmentation, and devs never bitch about whoch one to develop for, whether to use retina or regular graphics, and what version of iOS or generation to support.

          Nope, no fragmentation there!

          1. Nope! Which is why developers like Unreal Engine, Netflix and the like prefer iOS over Android…..And they fact that iOS users aren’t held hostage by carriers and OEM’s for our updates…..keep waitin for Gingerbread, Pancake, Tootsie Roll or whatever the hell else your crap is called

          2. Why are you even on this site if you like apple so much? Troll much smh

          3. iKING that a lie-and I am-iam sureeee you know this mannnnn-the day ipaied attention to i4-i isaw a youtube video of a devloper talikng about how its hard to make apps for the Rdesplay-and many other developers had his back on the issue….just sayin iKiNG just sayin

        2. iKING tHats a might ifan name alol…well ido not disagree with you…but ido believe that someday-someday soon you will try a andriod-a good high end android and leave i -iphone forever….

          1. Doubt it Mensah!!

        3. Guys why the EFF are you even responding to the one troll who’s just about (surprisingly) annoyed and succeeded in flaming nearly everyone on here. Just ignore.

          The fact that he comes onto Phandroid.com itself is a major win lol

          1. Yes…Dont Feed The Troll.

      2. “I’m surprised that there are so many android fans that liked the UI that is very similar to iPhone.”
        How would the average Android user have any idea what the iPhone UI is like?

        1. Because they haven’t been living under a rock for the past 5 years?

          1. or because it’s so basic that there isn’t anything new about it that hasn’t been on the desktop for 20+ years => a grid of icons.

          2. lol we also have a grid of icons but i guess widgets make it better.

        2. because most have/had a ipod/played with a ipod/iphone/ipad

          1. Got to agree with MensahWatts here, Apple products are only ONE and we all have seen them even tried them out if not how can you say you dont like them. But thats the beauty of Android, the diversity of products and where to choose from.

      3. I beg to differ. TW is definitely nothing like the iOS system, your just looking at it as a hater. Where in the iOS system can you add a widget where can you open and close the app drawer, I dont see any icon with any close ressembless to Apples’s icons. How can you honestly say that when knowing about the products you still look at it and think its an Iphone. The iphone is not close be being as slick looking as the GS. The biggest part that stands out on the Iphone is that lonesome button on with the square and where do you see that on the GS. Really stop hating on truly awesome products, even though they never rollout updates.

    6. I feel compelled to reply to some aspects of your comment as they made me chuckle somewhat.

      I am not an Apple user, nor do I like the company’s sense and sensibilities but you say,

      “They cannot be creative and come up with anything worth looking at anymore” – have you seen their latest tech?? It’s glorious to look at.

      “I am really happy Apple hit the can” – what can?? Are you saying that Apple, which has cash reserves of 50 billion US dollars (possibly 70 billion by the end of 2011) is teetering on the brink?? Really?? Explain, if you can.

      “They are going down just like their CEO” – see the comment prior to this one and come on, going down like their CEO; cheap shot, bad taste but worthy of someone like you who 1) doesn’t know what they are talking about and 2) has Android shoved so far up your rectum that when you smile your eyelids drop down to reveal notifications.

      Besides, the SGS series is so much like the iPhone, in looks, it’s uncanny. If it weren’t for the SAMSUNG on the top, t’would be its twin. I know, I have it.

      1. Really?? The IP4 has that huge hump at the bottom??
        I could care less WHAT phone anyone uses.. I use what works for me.. But the ip4 is a formless rectangle… No hump, no curve.. Ohhh it has a single SQUARE button in the middle, surrounded by two other buttons.. Yea.. looks just like an ip4.. In BAZZARO world!!

        1. The SGS has a bump on its bottom you mean, yes?

          The SGS does not look like the IP4, it looks like the IP3.

          This is just one of the aspects of the lawsuit.

          I too think the SGS looks just like an ip4.. In BAZZARO world!!

          Thanks for pointing that out. ;-)

      2. The SGS is different enough from the iPhone 3Gs that it can’t be considered a KIRF, a couple of Chinese phones maybe could be a better target, plus as you stated there’s a big Samsung just in front of it, so it can’t be confused with something else, on the software part we all know how different Android is from iOS, especially in its appearance, Widgets, Live Wallpapers etc…. Apple is going to loose this one and if Samsung put an end at their supply contract, they’ll get into serious troubles!
        By the way I do agree on the CEO thing, really bad taste…

    7. The way I see this is that if Apple filled in a lawsuit now… nearly a year later after the Galaxy S i9000 came out and just on the brink of the SGS II coming out, they obviously must be intimidated.

      Maybe they already know themselves SGS II will own every other mobile out there this year including their iPhone 5 :) and will tarnish its launch and sales.

      1. No, they just don’t like their IP ripped off…

        SGSII will own iPhone 5??? If you combine it’s sales with the other 100 plus Android iPhonies then maybe….

        1. Theres strength in numbers iQueen, sorry iKing. But then again, diversity and where to choose from is something you dont know about, or wait how many other smartphones out there run on iOS, just 1. Manufacturers know where the good stuff is and thats why they choose to develop and invest in Android.

  4. was wondering why this was taking so long to happen, honestly.

    1. I agree. Seriously I was appalled when the Galaxy series for debuted with such awesome hardware specs but the gross iPhone looking exterior killed it for me. Hate to admit it but they had it coming. Android in general has nothing to do with this so I don’t see Google losing out to anything. I’m predicting Samsung is going to settle out of court and reconfigure the look for future designs. That’s an EPIC FAIL on Samsungs part.

  5. Screw apple. They copied the so called smart cover for the iPad 2 and called it revolutionary. Boycotting this terrible brand.

  6. Apple : OMFG THEY SOLD MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS OF THESE THINGS!
    I know! Lets sue them for the most random shit ever.

    Samsung : LOLWUT? UMADBRO?

    seriously this is like honda suing toyota cuz they sell a red car with headlights as well.

  7. It’s about time Apple started fighting back….they need to sue all of these fake iPhone wannabes…

    1. You are sooo right! They need to sue everybody cause they came up with touch-screens, phones, mobile operating systems, and magic.

      Fer relz gyz appliz iz da b0mzors……

      1. Bury your head in the sand all you want, fandroid dufus. Anyone with a brain can look at the above photo and see that it’s nothing more than an iPhone wannabe….don’t fool yourself

        1. I like how ragging on apple makes me a fandroid dufus.

          I like how I automatically have no brain because I think apple suing Samsung over a form factor/silhouette and brightly colored poorly designed UI is ridiculous.

          But hey, I might as well bury my head as you say sir.

          1. Look up the term, “Trade Dress Infringement” and you might actually understand the purpose of the lawsuit, dufus….

          2. To gain registration in the Principal Register or common law protection under the Lanham Act, a trade dress must not be “functional.” That is, the configuration of shapes, designs, colors, or materials that make up the trade dress in question must not serve a utility or function outside of creating recognition in the consumer’s mind.

          3. Although the law is evolving, as it stands now, product packaging (including packaging in very general terms, such as a building’s décor) may be inherently distinctive.However, product design, that is the design or shape of the product itself, may not be inherently distinctive, and must acquire secondary meaning to be protected.

          4. Rage much? lolumadbroski?

          5. guess what … a troll

          6. It’s called Trade Dress Infringement:

            “Trade dress is a legal term of art that generally refers to characteristics of the visual appearance of a product or its packaging (or even the design of a building) that signify the source of the product to consumers. Trade dress is a form of intellectual property”.
            en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_dress

          7. In response to your last post with the Wikipedia citation. You will find what I copied (posted earlier) from the same page farther down in the section labeled “Legal Requirements”.

          8. “To gain registration in the Principal Register or common law protection under the Lanham Act, a trade dress must be “distinctive.” This means that consumers perceive a particular trade dress as identifying a source of a product.[19] For example, when a consumer walks through an electronics store and sees an Apple iPod and immediately recognizes it in favor of other MP3 players, it could be said that the iPod has achieved a trade dress.”

            Case closed…

          9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LG_Prada

            So how long has Apple been paying LG a license fee for the LG Prada’s trade dress, doofus?

          10. It looks like Jeremiah Bengtson has pointed out just how clueless you are. . . thus you are upholding the stereotype iTard.

            You may want to read more about “trade dress” to find out what it really is. . . in other words, learn before opening your mouth and removing all doubt how ignorant you really are.

        2. excuse me. its PHandroid. Get it right or…

          1. Wow! the best reply i’ve ever seen!!!
            Well said! apple fans.. its PHandroid not PHiphone!

        3. you are a Trolio

        4. Yeah, I mean, the iPhone looks nothing like the LG Prada, which predated it by well over a year…

          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LG_Prada

          1. Here we go again….As ha been stated on this site many times in response to the Prada/iPhone argument, Apple began working on the iPhone as early as 2002:

            http://www.brighthub.com/mobile/iphone/articles/82615.aspx

            Here are some pictures of early iPhone prototypes.

            Please provide two things in your response:

            1. Proof that the Prada was being worked on prior to 2002

            2. Pictures of early prototypes of the Prada to ensure that they dont resemble the ones pictured here

            You provide those things, and it will end the argument of who was first. Just because the Prada was rushed to market first doesnt mean it was developed first….

          2. I have come to realize those pics dont mean anything.

            That link doesnt mean anything.
            Who released first, Apple or LG?

            Show some patents dated from 2002 for the iPhone, sketches dated from 2002.

            The Prada wasnt made in a week.

            Thats all that matters. Anything else beyond that is left to the courts to decide if there ever is a lawsuit about it.

          3. Of course they don’t mean anything to you jroc74……because it totally blows your position out of the water!

            And btw, while you criticize the pics and links that I have shown, you have yet to produce ANYTHING that supports your position……I won’t hold my breath

          4. Dont have to….release dates support my position.

        5. Reading through these comments. . . you do realize that it’s iFans like you that turn many of us off to Apple, don’t you?

          1. I couldnt care less….

          2. If you really didn’t care then you wouldn’t be here.

          3. What RiverCitySlim said also, then why do you brag so much about how much Apple makes? If you didn’t care about them having more customers and doing better. . .

            Wow. . . you seems to be a very confused person.

    2. you are a Trolio

  8. Well on the bright side, maybe this will kill Touchwiz. The argument that it is a an “iphone rip-off” isn’t far fetched.

    1. Except, as mentioned above, for the Nexus S.

  9. Actually Apple in a sense did invent touch screens on phones or atleast the way we use them now. I remember when the Iphone came out everyone said it was a fad and touch screen only phones would never make it. Well, I guess everyone was wrong.

    1. I think your term “everyone” is a bit blown out of proportion.

    2. that’s a dumb argument. i want to help you out, but it will just bring me down.

    3. Exactly…..they said the same thing about the iPad….

      1. Apple hyping a device and/or making it popular DOES NOT MEAN that they innovated or invented anything. The iPad looks just like, and behaves just like, in many ways, as Archos tablets that have been around for years. . . with the exception of multitouch.

    4. Your ignorance is overwhelming. Touch screens have been in use on phones for years in Asia and Europe before Apple came up with the iPhone. They didn’t invent the tablet as that’s been around in one form or another since the mid ’80s.

      What they did do, was make it so easy to use even a moron like yourself could do it and feel special.

      Apple: purveyor of short bus fanboys since the 20th Century..

    5. Look up Archos. . . pre 2007. . . and then get a clue!

    6. I believe that it was the first capacitive touchscreen smartphone (with the LG Prada being the first capacitive touchscreen phone) BUT to say that it was the first popular touchscreen smartphone is just false.

      Ever heard of the HTC XDA? Palm Treo? Compaq iPaq? These phones all had very strong followings and were released years prior to the first iPhone.

  10. This is absolute, total and complete BS. If I didn’t hate Apple enough already, this just tipped the scale.

    Google the LG Prada. It was the FIRST capacitive touchscreen phone, and Apple blatantly copied it with the IPhone. No question whatsoever. Now they want to turn around and sue Samsung for copying THEIR copy?? Biggest hypocrite company ever, I hope LG turns around and sues them.

    1. I’m sorry, but is LG a mom and pop store screwed over by big Apple?

      For the love of God, they are ALL companies with their own IP. If they have a problem with it, let them work it out through whatever legal means they have.

      Stop whining like Apple just tripped you down the stairs or like LG or Samsung is your favorite Grandparent.

      They’re companies. They are all soulless, regardless of how good their marketing is.

    2. There has been much debate on here and Engadget about the Prada and the iPhone. It will be very interesting to see the outcome of this lawsuit.

      Makes you wonder know why Apple didnt try to sue LG after all these years if the Prada was copying the iPhone… But are suing Samsung after 1 year since the Galaxy S has been out.

      (Even tho the Prada came out first. Some pro Apple, iPhone folks like to say the iPhone was in development years before, like the Prada was made overnight…)

      LG at least hinted at one back in 2007, 2008.

      1. Because unlike the Prada, people are actually buying Galaxy S phones…..

        1. Whether someone buys it or not doesnt mean they cant be sued for copying.

          So as long as I copy a company, if it has lackluster sales its fine?

          Let me get to copying some ideas and hope I make just enough money that the company I’m copying wont care.

          Sales didnt stop Apple from going after the Meizu last year. I think a newer version just went on sale this year too.

          1. Fortunately, the existence of the LG Prada means that Apple’s claims to patents and trade dress are invalid due to “prior art.”

            It also means LG will have a stronger case in suing Apple for tens of billions, citing Apple’s own documents in arguing for the damage that “trade dress infringement” caused.

    3. LG didn’t sue apple because… (may be!)

      The first iPhone was unveiled on January 9, 2007,[1] and released on June 29, 2007. [source: wikipedia]

      LG Prada was first announced on December 12, 2006.[2] Images of the device appeared on websites such as Engadget Mobile on December 15, 2006.[3] An official press release showing an image of the device appeared on January 18, 2007. [source: wikipedia]

      1. WRONG! Check you facts again Spanky. The Prada won an award Sep 2006. Try and figure out when the Prada was first demoed, first viewed, first leaked. . . Apple had plenty of time to adjust their design.

  11. As normal apple sees a chance of making more money. Galaxy s might look like a iphone but that’s all. So do many other phones from other companies. I myself don’t like apple because of they’re overpricing. If a company can bring out a phone which is cheaper good luck too them. I’d buy it.

  12. Apple needs to grow up. Not everyone likes iOS. I’m sure some people enjoyed the iOS like interface with the true freedom of Android, but it’s nothing to sue over.

  13. iQueen, quite fucking trolling and get back to your shitty apple fanboy site

  14. Lmao, Samsung Creativity Fail

  15. No point arguing. It looks like an iPhone 3Gs

    I was hoping the Galaxy S II would look like an iPhone 4, but it’s still a bit rounded and plastic for me.

    Still totally going to buy it though.

    1. Actually, it looks like an LG Prada — which the iPhone cloned.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LG_Prada

  16. This was bound to happen. The question was when…

  17. This is very much like Ford suing Hyundai because Ford made 4-door automobiles with internal combustion engines first. Apple can keep its proprietary over-priced hardware as far as I am concerned. Apple doesn’t want you to be able to modify or even open your IPhone or any of their products for that matter. That is like buying a car with the hood bolted shut! When I buy a device, or even a car for that matter, I feel that it is my right to modify or change it in any way that I please without the manufacturer telling me that I have to return to them for future service, or replacement components. Give me freedom, give me ANDROID!

  18. This has got to be the biggest joke especially since Samsung builds a lot of parts for Apple.

  19. Apple is simply doing what they need to against their biggest threat. Samsung is the greatest threat to Apple due to Samsung’s philosophy of how to obtain market lead. They won over the TV market by upping everyone on hardware and over the years that has paid off and now they’re doing the same with smartphones. They are upping everyone on hardware. Just look at Galaxy S II (Bigger Screen, thinner, lighter, faster processor, more ram, etc) Samsung is “one-upping” iPhone in every aspect of hardware. The funny thing is that Samsung makes many components for Apple and because of that they know exactly what they need to do in order to one-up them. I see what Samsung doing as a great thing for us the consumers. Who doesn’t want more selection and better hardware at cheaper cost.

  20. This same thing happened in the paintball industry. A company named Smartparts sued the ever loving crap out of everybody they could for patent infringements etc.
    They ultimately dug their own grave and are no longer the major player they once were. I see Crapple going down this same road.

    While these phones may be similar, there only has to be so much of a percentage different for there to be nothing Apple can do about it. Sure, they can sue, but they will lose over and over again.

    1. Both the Sammy phone and the Apple phone are copies of the LG Prada, released in January of 2007.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LG_Prada

  21. hey, did you hear that wrangler is suing levi for making jeans that look like…. you guessed it, jeans?! honestly, making a similar product gives no grounds to sue. unless they can show where samsung copied a patent, for some sort of copyright then they have no case. making something that is similar is “NOT” illegal in this world. The galaxy s is similar to the iOS, but it is not exactly like it. this lawsuit will get thrown out.

    1. It’s called Trade Dress Infringement:

      “Trade dress is a legal term of art that generally refers to characteristics of the visual appearance of a product or its packaging (or even the design of a building) that signify the source of the product to consumers. Trade dress is a form of intellectual property”.
      en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_dress

      1. Indeed. Which means that Apple is going to have to pay tens of billions of dollars to LG. The iPhone trade dress, after all, is a clone of the LG product (which shipped well before the first iPhone and was demonstrated back in 2006).

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LG_Prada

      2. You need to read through these comments and learn what trade dressing really is because you clearly don’t understand.
        But Jeremiah Bengtson has explained it well.

      3. the galaxy s is similar, not exactly like it. there is no law saying you cannot create something that is similar a.k.a. comparable. the galaxy s is similar to the iphone, but it has it’s own identity. it has it’s own unique differences from the iphone. anybody with a half a brain can easily tell the difference between the two. if someone can’t tell the difference then maybe they should go back to the old motorola brick phones from nextel’s past. besides the similarities, the galaxy s has it’s own identity in the mobile world and apple has no grounds for a lawsuit. it is just a sorry ass attempt to take a cheap shot at it’s competitor. apple is fight a battle, and they are slowly losing ground. they need to do something, anything to turn the tides back in their favor. this is the easiest route. this route will fail them, and they will have to do everything they can do to make sure the iphone5 blows the competition away. and like someone else said, if you want to practice this trade dress legal bs, then i guess LG has the grounds to put apple under!

  22. Sounds just a bogus as RCA suing all other tv manufacturers cause all the screens and knobs are on the front.

    1. LOL!!…..that was crazy funny…and very true

  23. The Epic 4G, the Nexus S? If that’s the case, then the LG G2X is another one that supposedly looks like an iPhone. Ain’t nobody stealing they phone. I will admit the Vibrant 4G does look like an iPhone.

    But when I seen that they had the Epic 4G, I just flipped. That phone has a keyboard, nuff sed. LoL!! Apple is dumb. They ain’t goin win too much.

    1. Apple won’t go after LG because they had the Prada over 6 months before the iPhone and the iPhone looks just like the Prada.

  24. Thia is bullshit apple is a bunch of cunts samsung made the dedign for the iphone what a bunch of douches fuckk you apple

  25. The Nexus S? The Nexus S way sexier than the iPhone, if anything I bet iPhone will he copying the Nexus S when it removes the button from off the screen on its next design.

  26. So now nobody can make a rectangular shaped phone with curved corners? Apple is ridonkulous

    1. Apple invented the rectangular phone with rounded corners, didn’t you hear?

      Except they didn’t!

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LG_Prada

  27. Technically, Apple is legally obliged to defend their IP. If they don’t, they can lose the right to do so in the future.

    1. You are thinking of trademark. They are suing for “trade dress” patent infringement and patent infringement. It has nothing to do with Apple’s trademark. You do not have to sue to retain your patent it’s not like trademark.

      If what you are saying were true then Apple would already be suing every single smartphone manufacturer on the planet because all of them make at least one device that is mainly a screen, rectangular with rounded corners, and has plastic at the top and bottom of the screen with icons. Considering that’s what a lot of phones have looked like in some ways ever since there has been Symbian, Win CE, etc. . . it’s just Apple being Apple.

  28. why cause its black and thin????????????
    so is bmw duing honda cuz my accord looks kinda like a 5 series
    pretty pathetiic

    1. Huh? Translator please ;)

      1. I believe he means that Apple Suing (not “duing”, I believe) Samsung is like BMW suing Honda because his Accord looks “kinda like” a BMW 5 series…, i.e., pathetic

  29. I’m surprised they didn’t sue LG over the LG Etna/Eve/GW620. http://phandroid.com/lg-etna/

    If that’s not a blatant iPhone ripoff (with a keyboard), I don’t know what is.

    1. Please let them go after LG. That would be a very interesting court battle.

      1. Indeed, especially since LG released an “iPhone-like phone” long before the iPhone was even a product.

    2. Lg can’t steal their own design silly….
      LG Prada baby!

  30. all the companies should band together and sue crapple for everything it’s copied over the years,which is basically everything. We’re all behind you samsung.

  31. It is VERY obvious that Samsuck is copying Apple. I think the Nexus S should be exempt from that list since it is stock Android but their Galaxy S lineup has designs similar to a 3GS and their TouchWiz UI which is similar to iOS. I figured that Samdung was doing it intentionally and that there is nothing Apple can do about it since Samsuck supplies ALOT of materials for the iPhone (lol, Samdung pretty much manufacturers the iPhone). I guess Apple decided to bite the hand which feeds them and hope for the best. They better start looking for more part suppliers, iPhone 5 is right around the corner.

  32. Copying the look and feel, huh? I thought Android wasnt as smooth as iOS? Seems like Apple thinks so…or at least they think TouchWiz is.

    Now that I think about it, Apple didnt have a problem with the Omnia 1 and Touchwiz back then. Was Touchwiz on the Omnia 1?

    1. Touchwiz was around before Samsung put it on Android. The Symbian device (Omnia HD) and such has Touchwiz, but it didn’t look as “iPhone-like” as the one on the Android/Bada Devices.

      1. I see, thanks.

        I hated my Omnia 1 btw, lol. You could say the Omnia 1 is the reason I got my Droid 1. I didnt even bother to update the Omnia 1. I still got it tho, but it doesnt work, needs a new battery or needs to be factory reset.

        1. Omnia was a good start for their touchscreen phones. Omnia HD used Symbian (from Nokia phones). So to look at where Samsung is at now with phones after 2 years is great. Sad to see Apple suing then.

  33. This just in…Apple mad over the use of the word “Phone”…plans to sue to world!

    In other news, California to sue Florida over the shape of there so-called “Orange” fruit which is a major export of the state. Spokesman Jack Mehoff for the California Department of Free-Range Oranges is quoted saying:

    “Our spherical shape of Oranges helps consumer tell ours apart from the competition. Floridas so-called oranges are in clear violation and trying to purposely confuse consumers into thinking there product is an actual fruit, when clearly its a blatant rip-off.”

    1. In more news Apple sues GOD for use of the apple on the tree… Adam and eve as well as the serpent named in suit!

  34. Part of me is thinking that this is part of the plan to switch to an American chip vendor (ie. Texas Instruments, Nvidia or maybe even Intel) or at the very least a chip vendor which is not directly competing with them in this space.

    1. ummmm….. I believe Apple paid Samsung billions to build a chip plant in Austin, TX. So, they may be a little stuck in that relationship for a while.

      1. Did not know that. Now that is interesting. This makes this whole lawsuit weird.

  35. Apple wants to sue Samsung now because they feel threatened by the popularity of the Galaxy S line….LOL

  36. This is ridiculous. Samsung makes parts for the iPhone. They better start looking for another manufacturer for parts cause Samsung will not be happy. Maybe Apple is mad that Android is starting to overtake the smartphone market? Let’s face it, with Android getting about 300,000 daily activations they will be conquering the #1 spot.

    1. make that 350000

      1. I think it’s more like 400K+
        They were doing over 350K Q4 2010
        I think Google just gave a low number for the quarterly call so they can give a big number at I/O. . . we will see though.

  37. Samsung was making touch based UI tablets long before the ipad. That’s why they’re on their galaxy X, one through nine were selling for a decade now. And samsung was making a lot of touch based phones before apple. That’s why when the iphone came out every android fan was not complaining about the lack of keyboards. I was playing touch based games on my samsung for decades and decades.. BS Samsung, they even admitted that they needed to redesign their galaxy after the ipad 2 came out. A tiny bit of improvement here or there, but overall the galaxy os is buggy, the font is tiny since the apps are not tablet optimized and you don’t even get a discount for the lack of software. I remember the 250 dollar samsung I bought in 2006, it had no touch screen option, no apps, and a 10 second ringtone could cost me three dollars.There were stylus screens but a stylus is not as easy to use as a touch screen by far, how many stylus phones come out now a days? None. Blackberries had their own version of the internet, not the true internet, and apps were few and far between, you had to go on a desktop to buy them and they were expensive. Once the iphone came out, then, blackberry came out with a touch screen phone. Clearly there was a change in the mobile phone trends after the iphone came out, everyone in the world except bitter android fans can admit that. If it wasn’t for the iphone, android would have just been a robot in a movie.

  38. I’m guessing the timing has to do with the imminent launch of the GS II and new Tabs, which all look pretty spectacular.
    I wonder at what point Samsung, who is now supplying many components for iProducts, will suddenly and unexpectedly hit delays… if this keeps going, my guess is right before Apple tries to launch the next iPhone.

  39. yea the Epic looks just like an iPhone, even down to the hardware keyboard…. GTFO apple

  40. This a few weeks before the Samsung Galaxy S II comes out – are Apple going to try to get the courts to hold it up?

  41. Well, no one talks about Windows Mobile anymore, but I used touch screens for a long time before iPhones. Cut & paste on quite a few different brands.

    1. yep
      Just look at Archos several years ago. They had WiFi devices that look a lot like the iPone and iPad before either of those devices came out.

  42. I dunno, I’m an Android fan (T-mobile G2 user here), don’t like the iPhone. But I seriously hate what Samsung (and some other phone manufacturers are doing). I think Apple is right here, Samsung is seriously ripping the shit out of Apple to the point where Galaxy S’s (no matter how awesome they are) look like cheap apple knockoffs, and as a result makes Android look like a cheap apple knockoff when it’s very different from ios.

    I hope this lawsuit would give them some discipline lol

  43. I love my Vibrant, but the thing I hate the most about it is how much it looks like an iPhone 3GS. I’ve had more people assume it was an iPhone than anything else, and before I took the rubber skin case off, absolutely no one thought it was anything but an iPhone. I’d say this claim against Samsung is very valid, because if you think the Galaxy S and Galaxy S II look nothing like iPhones, you’re in denial. Enough with this “well how different can you make a phone that’s mostly just screen herp derp” crap. Motorola and HTC devices look absolutely nothing like iPhones, neither in form factor or design. The Galaxy S is a blatant copy. Silver around the edge, flat top and bottom, entirely back bezel, and curved speaker that’s the same shape as an iPhone speaker, and don’t even get me started on the Touhcwiz design. The GSII has an all black bezel, flat top and bottom, curved edges, and a silver lining around the side that makes the front look identical to the iPhone 4. I like my phone. It’s speedy and the Super AMOLED display is AMAZING, but I hope Samsung learns how to design phones with a little more originality.

    1. i am sitting here comparing the devices and yes, they look similar, but the galaxy s has it’s differences. the lawsuit will get thrown out. samsung will simply explain the differences in their design, prove that there is no copyrights being infringed, and apple will be out a few bucks. all apple is trying to do is steal some of the thunder from samsung/android. they are losing ground and have to do something. suing is the easiest/laziest route, and it is also the wrong route. just focus on the iphone5. although maybe the iphone5 is the reason for the lawsuit, maybe apple realized they cant create a phone that can keep up with android devices. we are just getting the first series of dual core cpus now, with talks of quad cores by the end of the year. apple alone cannot keep up with how rapidly android is growing.

  44. Dear Apple — meet the LG Prada.

    Capacitive touchscreen, rounded corners in a thin slab design with colorful icons.

    Oh, by the way, it shipped way, WAY before the original iPhone:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LG_Prada

    This is called “prior art.” And your lawsuit? That’s called “Apple is out of ideas, so it’s turning to the lawyers again.”

  45. I have to wonder, has iKing and friends ever used a high end Android device? HTC EVO? HTC Droid Incredible? Etc, Etc. You can’t honestly have tried both iPhone and these Androids and still think your iPhone is better. Seriously, come on….

    1. LOL
      No, iSheep don’t try other devices. That would be like a fundamentalist Catholic praying in a mosque.

      1. No, more like trading my Mercedes (iPhone) for a Chevy (Android)….

        1. The best part of this is that Mercedes also makes low end cars and buses. They are the Chevy/Ford of Germany

        2. you apperently have never used a high end android device. having owned the iphone 3gs, iphone4 and galaxy s, i will say i would stick with the galaxy s. i like the iphone, and it is a great device, however i like the options that android gives. and the galaxy s is a great phone. no phone is perfect. praise the iphone4 all you want, i still can’t hold my iphone4 with my left hand, and i am left handed. in my opinion, the iphone4 is more like a toyota. defective, yet apple has no solution to fix it. iOS has it’s ups for being a closed system, mainly getting the unreal engine before android, however i will stick with android and the endless options that come with it. including making my galaxy s truly, my own.

          1. There is no such thing as a “high end” Android device…..cheap and plasticky maybe, but high end? Nah….

          2. Man, you are pathetic. Just get a clue, grow up, and realize that there are lots of good devices made by lots of companies. It’s really sad reading your comments–if you are serious about them then you really need to seek professional help. No one should care that much about tech devices–it’s just a cell phone. . . wake up!

          3. Yea this confirms you are nothing but a troll.

            I am ashamed at myself for even responding to you…

            People, please remember:

            DONT FEED THE TROLL.

          4. i bet you probably don’t even have an iphone. you are probably still running the old motorola brick phones from classic nextel.

          5. You know what I have figured out from this, that Apple wanted the SGS2 design for their Iphone 5 and since Samsung didnt want to let it go they go and cry out and just try and make them loose it also. You do know that the Iphone was designed by Samsung right? I bet you do since you are so stubborn on defending your “PRECIOUS”. Be realistic man seriously, hey its not that I dont like the Iphone because its got its stuff also, but honestly with all the different Android phones out there, not just from Samsung, who wants to be stuck with a blatant single piece of hardware that you cant even compare with other Iphone owners.

            “Hey what phone do you have”
            Oh I have the Iphone, and you?
            “No way I have an Iphone too, ket me c urs”
            Hey whats the difference. Oh I have a sticker on the back, mine’s better.

  46. Reminds me of the Microsoft/Apple/Zerox fiasco several decades back over “look & feel” of window based operating systems,

  47. ..because samsung use Exynos for SGS 2 (not tegra2) and apple need Exynos for iphone 5. this make iphone 5 production to late. samsung will do anything for SGS 2 before iphone 5 release yet. it about angry from apple because they can’t use exynos.

  48. Luv the Galaxy S/S 2 specs, but do wish it took it’s own identity vice wanting to look like an IPHONE. This is one drawback for me as I am anti IPHONE!

    1. That’s kind of the hilarious thing here. You can change the GSII UI–add your widgets, rearrange things, etc. . . you can’t on an iPhone. .. so, Samsung just needs to ship it with a widget on the home screen, thus no more grid of 4 icons.

      I’m not really sure why Apple is doing this after reading the lawsuit and everything they are claiming. Clearly no consumer is going to look at a Samsung phone and mistake it for an iPhone–it has Samsung in bright white on the front of the freakin phone.

      If I were to guess why Apple is doing this. . . two possible reasons.
      1. Samsung isn’t giving Apple parts quick enough because, obviously, Samsung devices get top billing for parts and they are doing a serious push with their smartphones and tablets.
      2. Samsung has outdone Apple on all their devices–the GSII has better specs, thinner, best screen, business ready, etc and the same with their new line PMP devices. . . and the new tabs have top of the line hardware way beyond the iPad 2, thinner and lighter than the iPad 2. . . and more choices in form factors, and Touchwiz can easily be setup by the user to be like the iPhone/iPad or like and Android device thus the user gets “everything” from Samsung that they can’t get from Apple. So, like Samsung said, they are giving the user choice where apple is only giving restriction.

  49. “Epic 4G, Galaxy Tab, and even the Nexus S”

    How on earth do these bear resemblance to the iPhone or iPad? Unless Apple consider that anything that holds a SIM Card, and with the ability to place calls (which didn’t work out for their iP4 anyway!) is a complete rip-off and plagiarism of their iDevices.

    It would be fun if the Companies that started off the first touchscreen phones and tablets, but failed to capitalize on them, would come up and sue Apple, thus exposing the rip-offs that Apple really are, and their methods of downplaying and eradicating the original inventors of the devices they now so famously claim to be their own innovations.

  50. Was wondering when Apple would get around to this. I read the Reuters article and it looks like Apple learned from the MS case they lost in the 90’s, there’s no copyright infringement at all mentioned in the only trademark and patent. However, this could turn out poorly because you could easily argue that their grid of icons and a lot of the way ios works is “look and feel” which is not copyright-able nor patent-able. Or at least once upon a time it wasn’t, who knows these days with our crap-tastic patent system. The arguments should be interesting.

    The SGS phones are nice hardware, but geez is the design boring just like the iphone. Then again I think all the Apple designs are dull and uninspired, but design is a lot of personal taste.

    1. In general there isn’t anything that iOS does that wasn’t invented by someone else–remember that OS X & iOS is build on BSD. The only real patents Apple has with iOS are stupid things doing with multi-touch and how things scroll. . . nothing to serious. Other than that it’s an app launcher with a grid of icons–lots of prior art for all of that.

      The other thing is, the hardware “look” of the iPhone is nothing new either. There is prior art in that area. As far as “trade dressing”. . . I think any person that looks at the logos for the devices knows right away which is which. So, in the end what the hell are they going after? It seems more like a temper tantrum by Jobs than anything creditable.

  51. Oh shit! Will they win?

  52. The way I see this is that if Apple filled in a lawsuit now… nearly a year later after the Galaxy S i9000 came out and just on the brink of the SGS II coming out, they obviously must be intimidated.

    Maybe they already know themselves SGS II will own every other mobile out there this year including their iPhone 5 :) and will tarnish its launch and sales.

  53. Guys why the EFF are you even responding to the one troll who’s just about (surprisingly) annoyed and succeeded in flaming nearly everyone on here. Just ignore.

    The fact that he comes onto Phandroid.com itself is a major win lol

    1. lol. . . I guess someone has to educate the boy, obviously his parents aren’t ;)

  54. good… stop making plastic phones samsung!!!
    And weeks before I already said, samsung was stealing apple’s designs…
    iphone3gs = samsung galaxy S
    iphone4 = samsung galaxy player or their remote, forgot which one it was

    HTC > Samsung anyway!!!

  55. They’re just worried the S2 is gonna piss all over the iPhone 5 and are throwing their rattles out of the pram

  56. LG’s custom UI is very similar to iOS just like how Touchwiz is similar to iOS. It’s kind of obvious Apple (and any other big company) sues another company after a year to see if they made money. Just because one company says “oh I like that square looking design, lets make something similar” doesn’t mean it was blatantly copied. If one blatantly copied another then it would have to be 100% identical, which it obviously isn’t.

  57. Who the hell cares? They are just damn phones….

  58. This is interesting. Came across this on Engadget. Apple doesnt have a problem with this Samsung phone:

    http://i.imgur.com/aLGOQ.jpg

    But are upset about the Galaxy S line…Oh yeah.this will be one interesting court battle.

    It isnt clear if it was shown in 2006 like the Prada was. But it is another phone that looks like an iPhone that came out BEFORE the iPhone…

    I will state again like with the Prada: This Samsung device wasnt made in a week.

    1. Release dates…forget going on scavenger hunts. I will leave that to the courts.

      And its safe to say if this Samsung was released in Feb 2007…it had to be shown somewhere in 2006.

  59. This article is for you iKing:

    http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/11/14/firm.wants.apples.chinese.iphone.patents.invalid/

    Pay attention where it mentions LG…yea that same company that made the Prada.

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