US bans Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

[fordlltwm]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18605456

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales banned by US court
Apple iPad and Galaxy Tab Apple and Samsung have accused each other of copying aspects of their devices
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A court has banned sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the US while it decides on the firm's patent dispute with Apple.

Apple has claimed that Samsung infringed its design patent and copied the look of its popular device, the iPad.

The Samsung tablet is considered by most analysts as the biggest rival to Apple's iPad.

The ban does not apply to the Galaxy Tab 10.1 II, the tablet's new edition.

The trial for the case is scheduled to begin in California on 30 July.

"Although Samsung has a right to compete, it does not have a right to compete unfairly, by flooding the market with infringing products," said US District Judge Lucy Koh.

The judge had previously denied Apple's appeal for an injunction on the Galaxy tablet and smartphones, but was asked by a federal appeals court to reconsider Apple's request on the tablet PC.

In an emailed statement to the BBC, Samsung said that it "will take necessary legal steps" and that the ruling was unlikely to have a significant impact on its business.
'Extraordinary'
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“Start Quote

They are going to use every legal manoeuvre they can, including patent battles, to keep each other out of the market”

Tim Charlton Charlton Media

The two rivals are involved in a variety of legal cases in various countries across the globe amid claims and counter claims of patent infringement.

While Apple had accused Samsung of copying its design and look, the South Korean firm has alleged that Apple infringed its patents relating to the way phones and tablet PCs connect to the internet.

Analysts said the order passed by the judge was a significant development in the continuing legal battle between the two companies.

"The relief being given to Apple here is extraordinary," said Colleen Chien, a professor at Santa Clara Law in Silicon Valley.

"Preliminary injunctions are rarely asked for and rarely granted."
'Legal manoeuvre'

Apple and Samsung are two of the biggest manufacturers of tablet PCs and smartphones in the world.

The success of Apple's iPhone and iPad has seen the firm recently become the world's most valuable company.

It sold 37.04 million iPhones in the three months to 31 December 2011, more than twice as many during the same period a year earlier.

Its sales for the iPad also more than doubled during the period to 15.43 million.

Meanwhile, Samsung has enjoyed considerable success in the sectors with its Galaxy range of products. The company, however, does not provide a breakdown of its sales data.

The demand for tablet PCs and smartphones is likely to grow even further in the near term.

Analysts said that given the growth potential, the two firms were using every possible tactic to ensure that they capture a bigger share of the market.

"They are going to use every legal manoeuvre they can, including patent battles, to keep each other out of the market," Tim Charlton of Charlton Media told the BBC.

[Executor32]

According to Apple, anything with rounded corners and a black bezel is copying their design and look.

[Sarevok]

To be fair my Samsung Galaxy Ace has been mistaken for an iPhone multiple times. While the lawsuit has no merit I can see how Apple feels about this.

[Edi]

The current crop of smartphones and tablets from various manufacturers can easily be mistaken for one another from a distance, but that in itself does not mean anything. There are dozens of different devices of other types such as monitors, TVs, desktop computers, laptops etc that all share the same basic look, which is necessitated by their function and the user interface of said device. Yet one doesn't see bullshit lawsuits over them.

[LaCroix]

The ban does not apply to the Galaxy Tab 10.1 II, the tablet's new edition.

What a fail! It's like someone managed to stop the sale of "iPhone 2".

[Executor32]

The Galaxy Ace looks pretty much like an iPhone with a square front button, though. Not so with the Galaxy Tab 10.1. Not only is it a different aspect ratio, it's meant to be used primarily in landscape, and the locations of the buttons, cameras, speakers, ports, and even the logos and shit reflect that. The back also looks nothing like an iPad:



Apple knows they don't have a leg to stand on, too. When they filed suit in Germany over the same thing, they doctored their photo evidence to make the Galaxy Tab 10.1 look more like an iPad, changing the aspect ratio and removing the Samsung logo.

[Jaepheth]

...When they filed suit in Germany over the same thing, they doctored their photo evidence to make the Galaxy Tab 10.1 look more like an iPad, changing the aspect ratio and removing the Samsung logo.

Please tell me the German courts raked them over the coals for that kind of bullshit.

[DPDarkPrimus]

Oh my goodness, a flatscreen touchpad looks similar to another flatscreen touchpad. How ever is one supposed to distinguish them apart, other than what's on the fucking screen?

[Tanasinn]

...When they filed suit in Germany over the same thing, they doctored their photo evidence to make the Galaxy Tab 10.1 look more like an iPad, changing the aspect ratio and removing the Samsung logo.

Please tell me the German courts raked them over the coals for that kind of bullshit.

You think this sort of thing would be perjury.

[Dominus Atheos]

Apple knows they don't have a leg to stand on, too. When they filed suit in Germany over the same thing, they doctored their photo evidence to make the Galaxy Tab 10.1 look more like an iPad, changing the aspect ratio and removing the Samsung logo.

Image in question:

[Executor32]

As per the image, they also had the app drawer open, since Android's app drawer looks much more like iOS than a home screen full of widgets and shit.

[Pendleton]

Here is a good summary of the claims. And a visual guide.

[LaCroix]

Here is a good summary of the claims. And a visual guide.

So the only thing they complain about is that the Samsung stuff is black and has rounded corners??
Because for all software-related stuff, they'd have to sue Google, for Android isn't Samsung owned...

[Melchior]

Because for all software-related stuff, they'd have to sue Google, for Android isn't Samsung owned...

While I don't think that vague software patents are a good idea, that isn't accurate: TouchWiz (the Samsung android skin) looks a lot more like iOS than stock Android. The various Android skins are a disaster from both a technological (they increase fragmentation by slowing down upgrades on skinned models, which are the vast majority) and a design standpoint (the UI concepts showcased are typically terrible); if Apple manages to force Android phone makers to drop their pathetic attempts at differentiation out of fear of lawsuits it's actually going to be a boon for the platform.

[someone_else]

As for general appearence, yeah, it's true but applies to more or less all tablet and decent smartphones around. I'd personally prefer Apple wins just to force the fuckers to come up with somethig different that still does look cool. Possibly better than Apple.

As for software yup, it does hold lotsa water and since what said Melchior above is pretty true as well i hope Apple wins on this. Others will stop trying to rip off Apple's iOS looks and functions (to some extent, that's the same kind of product damnit) to boost sale so there is more chances they leave android free of proprietary crapware modifications.



If this was a move to kill Samsung, I doubt it will work, they will just reshuffle suff to make it slightly different and Apple can go to hell.

[Sarevok]

Based on your logic all laptops are same and HP or IBM or whoever built the first one should sue everyone else.

[folti78]

Here is a good summary of the claims. And a visual guide.

So the only thing they complain about is that the Samsung stuff is black and has rounded corners??
Because for all software-related stuff, they'd have to sue Google, for Android isn't Samsung owned...

Apple currently follows the Microsoft way, when dealing with Android. Go after the device makers, but not Google. Of course it helps a lot that Google acquired a large stash of patents when it bought Motorola Mobility, which it can use in a counter suit.

[Blayne]

I don't want apple to win because of precedent, it will make it harder for smaller business to make their own designs if big companies can sue if your just one shade of black too similar to theirs. The open and looser copyright law is the better.

[Pendleton]

Based on your logic all laptops are same and HP or IBM or whoever built the first one should sue everyone else.

If one of those companies designed a specific style and patented it, then yeah, go ahead. Apple did just that, and now they're upholding their right to this styling which comes with the brand that Samsung is shamelessly emulating.

And +1 to the shitty Android UI. I know iOS is basically a folder launcher for apps, but Christ, does Android's partners gauge progress by how many banal wastes of CPU time can be spent on useless glitz? And they say Apple is all style over substance.

[Skgoa]

I'm with someone_else on this. There is no reason Samsung should be allowed to steal Apple's design. Instead, they should go ahead and design something better.

I don't want apple to win because of precedent, it will make it harder for smaller business to make their own designs if big companies can sue if your just one shade of black too similar to theirs. The open and looser copyright law is the better.

Huh? This is about one company ripping another company of, not one company telling everyone else they can't do anything in that market at all. Small companies can (and should) do their own work. IMHO if a small company will be hindered from producing another stupid iPhone/iPad clone, it's just going to be an advantage for everyone involved.

[Pendleton]

Plus, we don't see Sony or Asus in the dock. Only Samsung. And I hope they get what's coming to them given the shit I had to put up with when using their mobiles, prior to the "Let's rip off Apple and hope no one notices" schtick.

[JLTucker]

And +1 to the shitty Android UI. I know iOS is basically a folder launcher for apps, but Christ, does Android's partners gauge progress by how many banal wastes of CPU time can be spent on useless glitz? And they say Apple is all style over substance.

Can you give some examples of this "shitty Android UI?"

[Pendleton]

Can you give some examples of this "shitty Android UI?"

TouchWiz on Samsung sets, which is loosely like the version I used to have on Symbian sets, and whatever HTC calls their setup now, which lags to hell and back on the Wildfire and HD sets, despite having ample horsepower. If they're going to implement whizzbang transitions and effects, at least make them somewhat workable on some of the lesser handsets (though I've seen issues even on former flagship handsets).

I care nothing for it. WP7 and iOS seem to offer a nicer user experience, if admittedly blander. But here's the thing: I never use the eye candy of Beryl and the like on Linux either, because it offers nothing for added CPU usage. On already paltry battery lives, Android can dispense with such stylistic flourishes. Remember how active wallpaper killed battery life when it first came out?

[JLTucker]

I suffer no lag on my HTC Vivid. Are your opinions based on pre Ice Cream Sandwich?

[Pendleton]

I suffer no lag on my HTC Vivid. Are your opinions based on pre Ice Cream Sandwich?

Yep. No one I knows has a phone that can get ICS yet and the best I heard from the industry is maybe 10% being able to get ICS before JB hits. The best would be the Galaxy S2, I believe, but even that hasn't had the update passed through the dumb pipes that are the telcos yet. I'd have rooted it if I had one, but i) why should I? ii) Google needs to use some clout finally to get this don't-bother-with-updates-get-a-new-phone mentality shot down.