Even Google Thinks Samsung’s Android Phones and Tablets are ‘Too Similar’ to the iPhone and iPad
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Apple is heading into battle in court with Samsung as another patent trial starts next week, and in a pre-trial brief released on Wednesday they revealed that they will be relying on Samsung’s own internal documents to prove their case that the company purposely copied Apple’s designs for the iPhone and iPad.
These documents apparently not only show that Samsung openly admitted that it was copying Apple’s designs and user interface, but that they were also explicitly warned by Google and other third parties that their designs were too similar to the iPhone and iPad.
Per All Things D, the documents show that in February 2010 Google told Samsung that the company’s Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablets (“P1″ and “P3″) were “too similar to the iPad” and demanded “distinguishable design vis-a-vis the iPad.” They also show notes by Samsung’s product design group in 2011 that state that it is “regrettable” that the Galaxy S “looks similar” to older iPhones, and a formal evaluation sponsored by Samsung in which designers concluded that “all you have to do is cover up the Samsung logo and it’s difficult to find anything different from the iPhone.”
Sounds like Samsung’s legal team is going to have their work cut out for them disputing these documents, but they are not unprepared. All Things D states that Samsung allegedly has some defense of its own to present, including 2006 internal designs outlining a mobile UI similar to the one that later appeared on the iPhone, a before-and-after iPhone handset comparison graphic, and some internal Apple emails that they claim suggest that Apple’s iPhone was copied from the designs of a competitor, Sony.
It should be very interesting to see how it all plays out next week as the fight begins! Billions are at stake, and the verdict will likely have a major impact on the future competitiveness of the smartphone and tablet market.
