Apple’s patent infringement case against Samsung for ‘slavish copying’ of the iPhone and iPad and their trade dress, packaging etc is interesting for all sorts of reasons.
What seems unquestionable is that there was no consumer product available in the past that resembled Apple’s iPad and that manufacturers like Samsung, HTC etc (ha!) were ‘inspired’ by Apple’s designs. But what about the future? Or, past ideas of the future, like Star Trek (very clunky eClipboards masquerading as iPads, chunky, flip-phone-style ‘Communicators’ were better at standing in for iPhones) or, hey, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey?
Well, wonder no more. This extract of Samsung’s recent filing from FOSSPatents reveals …. well, do you think it’s a smoking gun? In 1968?
Samsung cites Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey' movie as prior art against iPad design patent (FOSSpatents.blogspot.com - click)
This is how the related [Samsung] declaration [to U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California] explains why this movie picture is valid prior art for a certain iPad-related design patent:
Attached hereto as Exhibit D is a true and correct copy of a still image taken from Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film “2001: A Space Odyssey.” In a clip from that film lasting about one minute, two astronauts are eating and at the same time using personal tablet computers. The clip can be downloaded online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ8pQVDyaLo. As with the design claimed by the D’889 Patent, the tablet disclosed in the clip has an overall rectangular shape with a dominant display screen, narrow borders, a predominately flat front surface, a flat back surface (which is evident because the tablets are lying flat on the table’s surface), and a thin form factor.
Sooo… Will it be laughed out of court or seen as a slam dunk?
What do you think?
– P
Here’s view: http://www.ipyoup.com/2011/08/tablet-odyssey.html
As a new Samsung user with an iPhone user in the house I find them very different beasts… and unfortunately for Apple the more time I spend with the Android the more I love it.
Legally there may be similarities and legally there may be problems but from an end user’s perspective they are very different beasts.
What’s the key difference you love? Customability?
Probably the very things you hate.
Within minutes my address box was filled with contacts from gmail, facebook and skype. Photos are backed up in a secure folder on picasa.
Google has tentacles in so many different areas that never really made sense, now I can see what they’ve been trying to do.
I’ve actually installed very few apps because the base apps do what I need.
My main gripe would only be the battery life. blink and you miss it! Oh and it doesn’t tell me how long my text message is. I’m sure I’ve been sending some whoppers to folk with older phones who get “Part 1 of 9”, oops
Cheers, thanks.
Integration is a good thing, so long as it’s being carried out in a secure way to somewhere you trust.
Of course my address book, calendar (incl. Google calendars) are all synced between devices. Facebook? Weeell, I decided not to say yes to that. (Ahem.)
For all the gripes I read ahout iTunes, I still ‘get it’ and every time I sync (soon to be cloud-based) I back up … and often think: I’ve just made my iPhone completely replaceable. The ‘POD’ part of the iPod approach. Me likey.
I’m not, contrary to reports, so one-eyed that I don’t think Android is worth a damn. Did Google/Samsung copy? Yup IMO. But they’ll be held accountable for any ‘crimes’. #doesntmatter
– P
(I got a note from Viber when you installed it a little while back, Sarah, saying you were now on Viber for Android, btw.)
That argument is laughable but so is Apple.
http://getandroidstuff.com/apple-lied-court-european-galaxy-tab-injunction-false-evidence/
Oh jeez. That pic. If that was the *only* side-by-side comparison in Apple’s court filing, maybe. There are others, as has been widely discussed.
But anti-fans of Apple have latched on to that image/pic. Why did they distort it? Dunno, don’t care.
The case will be decided on more substantive issues I feel — or settled out of court. I see the Galaxy SII has ditched the iOS-inspired single home button and reverted to 4 Android-style buttons along the bottom.
Plenty of customers for everybody. Samsung = patent infringers all day long IMO. -P
You have so swallowed the Blue pill.
The Cult leader has resigned. Finally we will see Steve is not the genius people think he is.
@Craig: see http://www.thepaepae.com/write-no-early-obituaries-for-steve-jobs/18274/
– P
A holes at Apple at it again.
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2011/09/iphone_5_apple_police.php