Accuses its rival of blatantly copying designs of iPhone and iPad for its Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets
Apple is one participant in a web of litigation among phone makers and software firms over who owns the patents used in smartphones, as rivals aggressively rush into the smartphone and tablet market, which the US firm jumpstarted with iPhone and iPad.
Nokia and Apple have sued each other in numerous courts and as recently as last month Nokia filed a complaint with the US trade panel alleging that Apple infringes its patents in iPhones, iPads and other products.
Samsung is one of the fastest-growing smartphone makers and has emerged as Apple’s strongest competitor in the booming tablet market with models in three sizes but it remains a distant second in the space.
“If Apple fails to fend off Android, it will within a year or two find itself in a situation like Research in Motion, even if at a higher level (initially),” said Florian Mueller, a technology specialist and blogger on patent battles.
“Apple has realised this already as its new lawsuit against Samsung shows, but given what’s at stake, I think Apple would have to do much more than this. It would have to sue more Android device makers and over more patents.”
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Samsung’s Galaxy products use Google’s Android operating system, which directly competes with Apple’s mobile software. However, Apple’s claims against Samsung focus on Galaxy’s design features, such as the look of its screen icons, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit alleges Samsung violated Apple’s patents and trademarks.
“This kind of blatant copying is wrong,” Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said in a statement.
Apple is bringing 16 claims against Samsung, including unjust enrichment, trademark infringement and 10 patent claims.
“Samsung has made its Galaxy phones and computer tablet work and look like Apple’s products through widespread patent and trade dress infringement... By this action, Apple seeks to put a stop to Samsung’s illegal conduct and obtain compensation for the violations that have occurred thus far,” Apple said in the court document.
Samsung’s shares closed up 0.9 per cent after slipping to their lowest level in one month in a broader market down 0.7 per cent.
Samsung said it would respond to the legal action “through appropriate legal measures to protect our intellectual property.”
“Samsung’s development of core technologies and strengthening our intellectual property portfolio are keys to our continued success,” it said in a statement.
Samsung faces the challenge of moving beyond being a hardware company, clever at copying ideas, to becoming more creative, better adept at software, at a time when consumer gadgets are getting smarter all the time. It has yet to come up with the kind of original, iconic, market-leading products that powered brands such as Apple's i-series or Sony Corp’s Walkman. Nor has it taken the kind of initiatives in software that Google and Apple did to thwart Microsoft.
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Apple CEO Steve Jobs has criticised Samsung and other rivals in presentations of new products or technology debates. Analysts say Samsung’s response to this has been muted, partly because Apple was Samsung’s second-biggest customer last year after Sony.
Apple brought in around $5.7 billion of sales to Samsung in 2010 mainly by purchasing semiconductors, according to Samsung's annual report.
John Jackson, an analyst with CCS Insight, said Samsung is essentially Apple’s only real tablet competitor at this stage. “It’s clear that they do not intend to let Apple run away with the category,” Jackson said.
“This is more like a symbolic move by Apple that it is quite serious about rivals advancing and it is trying to hold back its close competitors,” said John Park, an analyst at Daishin Securities in Seoul.
“Samsung is unlikely to respond aggressively given that Apple is its core client in the component business,” Park said.