Apple Legal Dept Stays Busy: Sues Samsung over Phones, Tablets
As if there the lawyers at Apple weren't busy enough defending lawsuits and serving others with complaints, the maker of the iPhone has sued rival Samsung Electronics claiming that Samsung's Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablet "slavishly" copies the iPhone and iPad.
The lawsuit, filed on Friday, alleges Samsung copied the look, product design and product user interface of Apple's products, Reuters reports.
The suit takes aim specifically at the Galaxy series of smartphones and tablet, as well as other Samsung smartphones for "copying" Apple's user interface and design features, Reuters reports.
Apple claims Samsung is infringing on its patents and is practicing unfair competition.
The lawsuit is of special interest given the relationship between the two companies. Samsung is the supplier of components in a handful of Apple devices, including part of Apple's A4 and A5 processors, which can be found in the company's iOS devices as well on the Apple TV product, CNET reports. Various reports indicate that Apple has moved away from Toshiba to Samsung as the provider for SSD storage in its MacBook Air notebooks.
Apple did not hold back in its complaint, firing off some harsh words at Samsung:
"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."
It will be interesting to see how Samsung responds to Apple's allegations.
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