Apple has sued Samsung over similarities between the companies' handset and tablet products. Filed April 15 in the Northern District of California, the suit alleges that Samsung has been riding Apple's coattails with devices such as the Galaxy S 4G, Epic 4G, Nexus S and Galaxy Tab by copying design elements from the iPhone and iPad.
"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," the suit said. "This kind of blatant copying is wrong," spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said in a statement.
The infringement supposedly spans both hardware and software. Apple seeks injunctions, damages, punitive damages and hopes to establish that the alleged infringement was willful. It's unclear how the case will affect business relations between the two companies, considering Samsung supplies Apple with flash memory chips for its various mobile devices.
There's no denying that certain Samsung products strongly resemble Apple's, but this isn't an uncommon occurrence. Both the original iPhone and iPad paved the way for their respective markets, leaving competitors to play catch-up. In such a case, it's to be expected that many companies borrowed from Apple's success instead of reinventing the wheel.
Seemingly all prominent tech companies are guilty of leeching off others -- Apple included. Cupertino is currently entangled in patent squabbles with other firms including HTC, Nokia and Motorola. Whether Samsung took things a little too far remains to be seen. Apple's filing shows photo comparisons between the products in question. What do you think?
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