Apple vs. Samsung Court Message: Create, Don't Emulate
Don't mess with Apple about the curves on the corners of its smartphones. Oh, and if you're an Android developer, God forbid if you try and copy the Bounce.
Those are only two of myriad intellectual property messages that came out Aug. 24. That was when a federal court jury in San Jose, Calif. decided to punish South Korea-based connected-device maker Samsung with a $1.05 billion damages slap for ostensibly copying Apple's products. After three days of deliberation, the jury found that Samsung purposely infringed on Apple’s mobile device patents in the design of its tablets and smartphones, which led to the sky-high dollar total.
Apple is making no qualms about going hard legally after Samsung, its Android operating system and the rest of the $219 billion smartphone and tablet market. It already owns about 62 percent of tablet sales with the iPad but it is facing a receding 17 percent of the smartphone market with the iPhone. Android, with 68 percent of the world smartphone market, has a huge advantage -- one that would take several years to supersede.
