Wired Interviews Samsung: 'It’s Unreasonable That We’re Fighting Over Rectangles'

[MrX8503]

They aren't claiming that. It's more than just rectangles. Also I can assure you that the outcome of this lawsuit will not adversely affect the smartphone market.

 

[Medu]

One of the main arguments is that Samsung stole Apple's design which confused people into buying a Samsung instead of an iPhone however a large part of the confusion is just down to people's ignorance and the media's hype around the iPhone.

I was at a football game yesterday and the guy beside me was asking me if I had an iPhone as he wanted to place a bet. I said no, as I didn't-have a Galaxy, and because he was a drunken tool. At half time I whip out my phone and he got annoyed as I 'lied'- to many people in the general public smartphones=iPhone, tablets=iPad, music player=iPod(I remember having to tell people that my grey Sony MD was not an iPod). There was also a time when all home consoles were Nintendo's, then it was Playstation's and handheld's have always been Gameboy's.

My point is that I doubt that there are many people that truly wanted an iPhone but ended up with a 'cloned' Samsung. What they wanted was a smartphone but didn't realise that there was more than 1 type and thought all smartphones were iPhones and when their co-workers/kids pointed out that their new iPhone was not in fact an iPhone they left duped.

 

[Oyeve]

If I was samsung I would just pay the 2.x billion to apple, cancel (legally) all ties to making anything for apple, license/patent everything so when apple goes to another company to make its HW, samsung can say, nope, thats ours and go on a sue crazy rampage. I am thinking that samsung can afford to take a profit dip temporarily just to flush their inards of apple.

 

[MrX8503]

If I was samsung I would just pay the 2.x billion to apple, cancel (legally) all ties to making anything for apple, license/patent everything so when apple goes to another company to make its HW, samsung can say, nope, thats ours and go on a sue crazy rampage. I am thinking that samsung can afford to take a profit dip temporarily just to flush their inards of apple.

Samsung needs Apple just as much as Apple needs them. There are $8B+ in contracts between the two. If they could cut ties that easily, this would have already happened.

 

[badb0y]

If I was samsung I would just pay the 2.x billion to apple, cancel (legally) all ties to making anything for apple, license/patent everything so when apple goes to another company to make its HW, samsung can say, nope, thats ours and go on a sue crazy rampage. I am thinking that samsung can afford to take a profit dip temporarily just to flush their inards of apple.

Its always funny to read these kind of comments.

 

[Phynaz]

If I was samsung I would just pay the 2.x billion to apple, cancel (legally) all ties to making anything for apple, license/patent everything so when apple goes to another company to make its HW, samsung can say, nope, thats ours and go on a sue crazy rampage. I am thinking that samsung can afford to take a profit dip temporarily just to flush their inards of apple.

It's thinking like this that explains why you aren't in a position to make decisions like this.

 

[Zaap]

Except Apple isnt' claiming ownership of rounded rectangles. Stop making it sound like that's the only factor in the Apple Samsung lawsuits.

As stated, we know it's more than that. It's about Apple trying to stifle competition in the mobile market.

Apple succeeded (for a while) in blocking sales of the Nexus phone, citing the most obscure garbage as a reason. They did nothing but harm consumers by temporarily removing a choice from the market, which is really what they're after. A person would have to be insane to think that anyone would mistake a Nexus for an iPhone. It's only about Apple trying to hold back its competition. And let's not forget we have Steve Jobs on record as making it a mission to destroy Android- which really translates to seeking to remove a major choice from consumers to pave the way for Apple to grab it all.

What other company has its former head make such a statement and then an army of lawyers in court implementing it?

 

[Zaap]

Oh and of course the SGS3 is so easy to mistake for an iPhone.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Oh and of course the SGS3 is so easy to mistake for an iPhone.

you made that claim up

According the complaint, which was filed in a California court earlier this week and posted online by patent law blogger Florian Muller, the Galaxy S III clearly infringes on data-tapping and unified search technologies owned by Apple.

 

[Zaap]

Stop playing ignorant. Notice you couldn't counter anything I pointed out.

People have tried to excuse Apple's sue-happy antics claiming that it's because the products are copies of Apple- and yet there's NOTHING about the SGS3 that could be mistaken for anything of Apple's. Ditto the Nexus. It's clear they're just suing to block flagship devices that they don't want to have to compete with.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Stop playing ignorant. Notice you couldn't counter anything I pointed out.

People have tried to excuse Apple's sue-happy antics claiming that it's because the products are copies of Apple- and yet there's NOTHING about the SGS3 that could be mistaken for anything of Apple's. Ditto the Nexus. It's clear they're just suing to block flagship devices that they don't want to have to compete with.

I'm not making excuses for Apple's sue-happy antics. It may be stupid, but that's not even the claim they're making. You're using a strawman argument about people walking in stores about being confused by the iPhone 4S and the SGS3. Instead of misconstruing arguments why don't you actually fire back at Apple's allegations.

I already quoted a relevant section of the article talking about unified search. Furthermore, you act as if there haven't been blatant ripoffs in the Android ecosystem. There's ripoffs from both sides.

 

[WelshBloke]

I'm not making excuses for Apple's sue-happy antics. It may be stupid, but that's not even the claim they're making. You're using a strawman argument about people walking in stores about being confused by the iPhone 4S and the SGS3. Instead of misconstruing arguments why don't you actually fire back at Apple's allegations.

I already quoted a relevant section of the article talking about unified search. Furthermore, you act as if there haven't been blatant ripoffs in the Android ecosystem. There's ripoffs from both sides.

The unified search is different from the trade dress issues.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

The unified search is different from the trade dress issues.

yes i know that, but the complaint against the SGS3 was regarding unified search. it was also the same reason why the gnex was pulled temporarily.

 

[Zaap]

You're using a strawman argument about people walking in stores about being confused by the iPhone 4S and the SGS3.

No, I'm showing pointing out how ridiculous that 'argument' is in ANY case. You're right it's a strawman- it's a strawman when defenders of Apple try to use it making excuses for Apple.

Instead of misconstruing arguments why don't you actually fire back at Apple's allegations.

I already quoted a relevant section of the article talking about unified search. Furthermore, you act as if there haven't been blatant ripoffs in the Android ecosystem. There's ripoffs from both sides.

I already have; they're just trying to block devices they don't want to compete with.

There's any number of devices they could have gone after instead of the Nexus and the SGS3 for the same bullshit reasons. You'd have to be blind not to notice the pattern that they try to block sales of flagship devices from their competition for complete bullshit reasons.

 

[Aristotelian]

Is part of the problem that patents are being granted for things that were not unique at the time the patnet was granted?? I'm late to this party, but can one really sue another (albeit, not only) for such a thing like 'slide to unlock'? Detecting information in emails (like phone numbers) to allow you to call the person? Spell check suggestions with typos?

Isn't slide to unlock an obvious evolution in touch screen interfaces - a gesture that is very particular (and simple, a straight line swipe) to have an obvious function? On the nexus there are numerical unlocks, facial recognition unlocks, pattern unlocks and more - does the popularity of the nexus really hinge on such a feature?

How does a company get a patent for autocorrections on a mobile device? Why not just patent the dictionary functionality, too (saving updates to the autocorrect feature)?

It's disappointing to me as a consumer that this sort of litigation exists.

And regarding the Sony laptop issue:

I remember when I first bought a Dell XPS m1330 in 2007, with a solid state hard drive, I was told months later by many Apple supporters that the macbook air 'was the first laptop that had the ability to add a solid state drive, therefore Apple is incredibly creative' and so on. I don't weigh in on any side in particular, but somehow I think Apple's position that they are uniquely creative in these markets supervenes on their marketing - as if they really are 'the first' to offer the features they offer - and even when this is the case, that the features are unique enough to warrant a patent in the first place.

 

[MrX8503]

Isn't slide to unlock an obvious evolution in touch screen interfaces - a gesture that is very particular (and simple, a straight line swipe) to have an obvious function?

Its only obvious until AFTER its been implemented. Just because its obvious now, doesn't mean it has always been obvious.

Neonode was the first device to implement a slide to unlock feature. Both the iPhone and Neonode unlock by sliding, but they both do it differently. Whether or not Neonode invalidates Apple's patents has been argued to death, so I'll leave it at that.

 

[mosco]

http://allthingsd.com/20120806/iphone-caused-crisis-of-design-at-samsung-memo/

If only it were so simple as "rectangles"...

 

[MrX8503]

http://allthingsd.com/20120806/iphone-caused-crisis-of-design-at-samsung-memo/

If only it were so simple as "rectangles"...

lol, wow.


From Samsung's internal Memo:

“I hear things like this: Let’s make something like the iPhone.”

“When everybody (both consumers and the industry) talk about UX, they weigh it against the iPhone. The iPhone has become the standard. That’s how things are already.”

“Do you know how difficult the Omnia is to use? When you compare the 2007 version of the iPhone with our current Omnia, can you honestly say the Omnia is better? If you compare the UX with the iPhone, it’s a difference between Heaven and Earth.”

Android fans still don't want to believe it though. Mobile UX was terrible before the iPhone and you heard it from the #1 Android manufacturer, Samsung.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

lol, wow.


From Samsung's internal Memo:

Android fans still don't want to believe it though. Mobile UX was terrible before the iPhone and you heard it from the #1 Android manufacturer, Samsung.

So basically, Samsung is saying that they need to get it together and provide a strong UX.

How is that saying they copied Apple?

 

[dguy6789]

lol, wow.


From Samsung's internal Memo:

Android fans still don't want to believe it though. Mobile UX was terrible before the iPhone and you heard it from the #1 Android manufacturer, Samsung.

Man, imagine if Apple made cars or watches they would be suing other companies for using tires and numbers. Apple having been granted a patent doesn't mean that it is just.

 

[mosco]

So basically, Samsung is saying that they need to get it together and provide a strong UX.

How is that saying they copied Apple?

Because of:

http://allthingsd.com/20120725/apple-google-warned-samsung-against-copying-us/ and that whole "iphone is easy to copy" memo.

 

[Zaap]

EVERYONE was saying "Let's make something like the iPhone" in 2007. If they wanted to stay in business that is.

This just gets stupider every day.

It's just like how designers at Apple at some point sat down and said, "Let's make something like the pull down notifications that Android has."

Every other consumer product has an industry standard model that everyone follows, and those that don't become hopelessly outdated and are knocked out of the race. As has been said a million times- if everyone in other industries were as patent-crazy and sue-happy as Apple, they'd spend all their time in court suing over everything from cordless household telephones to washers and dryers, to DVD players, to cars.

Apple trying to keep the same thing from happening in the mobile market is completely futile- so even though they're trying to slam the breaks on everyone else now that's outdoing them, eventually they're just going to have to go back to actually competing by innovating their phone line in a more timely manner. Oh well.

 

[jhansman]

I'm just waiting for Apple to change their shitty English from "Think Different" to "Think Legal." Hope Samsung eats their lunch.

 

[TheStu]

EVERYONE was saying "Let's make something like the iPhone" in 2007. If they wanted to stay in business that is.

This just gets stupider every day.

It's just like how designers at Apple at some point sat down and said, "Let's make something like the pull down notifications that Android has."

Every other consumer product has an industry standard model that everyone follows, and those that don't become hopelessly outdated and are knocked out of the race. As has been said a million times- if everyone in other industries were as patent-crazy and sue-happy as Apple, they'd spend all their time in court suing over everything from cordless household telephones to washers and dryers, to DVD players, to cars.

Apple trying to keep the same thing from happening in the mobile market is completely futile- so even though they're trying to slam the breaks on everyone else now that's outdoing them, eventually they're just going to have to go back to actually competing by innovating their phone line in a more timely manner. Oh well.

I saw something interesting recently that has some bearing on this.

When Fender first introduced the Stratocaster, they didn't patent or trademark it. Other manufacturers came along, and started copying the overall look of the Stratocaster, but Fender never took them to court. Later, when they tried to trademark it, a court ruled: "the body shapes were generic and that consumers do not solely associate these shapes with Fender Musical Instruments Corporation". The ruling went on to say "in the case of the [Stratocaster] body outline, this configuration is so common that it is depicted as a generic electric guitar in a dictionary."

*Cribbed and paraphrased from here

 

[Anubis]

i never used a samsung device before android but TH i never found the UX on apple to be any better vs a PDA or what RIM was doing.

they took the concept of shortcut icons and put them i na grid with a touch screen, not exactly an amazing discovery