Apple Samsung Patent Lawsuit Argued in Federal Circuit
Don't mess with the iPad. Apple takes their tablets and smartphones seriously. And they don't want competition.
Apple has tried unsuccessfully to block competitor Samsung from selling their smartphones and tablets, accusing them of patent infringement. Now, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals is hearing arguments in the iPad patent infringement case.
According to the District Court complaint, Apple accused Samsung of "creating products that blatantly imitate the appearance of Apple's products to capitalize on Apple's success."
The case against Samsung Galaxy S 4G, Infuse 4G, Droid Charge, and Galaxy Tab 10.1 has already been heard before a federal judge in San Jose, California. In that decision, District Judge Lucy Koh ruled that Apple's patent infringement claims were too broad. She denied relief, writing that the trial prospects focused on the visual aspects of the products and not on the function of the products.
Now, Samsung's attorneys are making their case before a three-judge panel of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. Last Friday, Samsung's counsel argued that design patents are meant to be of narrow scope and are for the purposes of foreclosing legitimate competition.
Apple's attorney, however, argued that the standard applied by Koh was incorrect. Apple, the attorneys said, needed to show Samsung had built infringing design features into competing products, rather than show that consumers had chosen Samsung over Apple due to those features.
Thus, Apple's lawyers argued, the real test to obtain injunctive relief was not a connection between the infringement and the harm, just that there was an infringement. The requirement of infringement harm had been met, by the "head-to-head aggressive competition built on infringement."
Apple and Samsung are currently involved in over 20 patent lawsuits worldwide.
Related Resources:
- Apple Stole iPad Idea from Stanley Kubrick's 2001 , Samsung Argues (FindLaw's Technologist)
- Apple Blocks Samsung Galaxy Tablet Sales in Europe (FindLaw's Technologist)
- Browse Federal Circuit Court of Appeals Cases (FindLaw Cases)