Apple has filed suit against Samsung Electronics Co. for violating Apple’s intellectual property, the look and feel of the Galaxy tab as well as some phones.
The suit, #11-1846, was filed on April 15, 2011 in the Northern District of California (San Francisco), the typical venue for cases like this. It covers the Galaxy Tab (tablet) and the Galaxy S 4G, Epic 4G and Nexus S phones.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple’s filing said, in part, “Rather than innovate and develop its own technology and 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.”
Apple spokesperson Kristin Huguet said, “This kind of blatant copying is wrong.”
Apple both competes with and cooperates with Samsung; they are classic frenemies in the corporate world. It would probably be farfetched to suggest that Samsung would unilaterally disrupt the contractually agreed to flow of component parts to Apple, such as Flash memory, SSDs, and other chips over this kerfuffle. Both sides know that they need to help each other make money, and both sides also would grudgingly agree that copying each other’s intellectual property (IP) is not something each side can abide by.
The upshot? Business as usual. And the respective attorneys earn new BMWs when it’s over.