Apple (AAPL) has filed a lawsuit against Samsung in federal court, alleging that the South Korean company’s Galaxy phones and tablets infringe patents and trademarks of the iPhone and the iPad. The case was filed in federal court in Oakland, California on April 15.
Apple claims that Samsung infringes patents in terms of how the Galaxy products operate, including the use of hand expressions on the screen and the color and shape of the gadgets. The Galaxy phones and tablet, which use Google Inc.’s (GOOG) Android software, were specifically designed to copy Apple products, Apple said.
The litigation pits the two largest makers of tablet computers against each other amid the tremendous increase in demand for the the iPhone and the iPad, which Apple has said will ultimately exceed personal computers in sales. Steve Jobs, Chief Executive Officer of Apple, which relies on Samsung to provide chips for the iPhone and iPad, called out Samsung when unveiling the iPad 2 in March, saying that the company was among the tablet makers angling to make 2011 the “Year of Copycats.”
[From Bloomberg]: “What’s of concern is that you can see the strategic relationship between Samsung and Apple getting worse of late,” said Kim Young Chan, an analyst at Shinhan Investment Corp. “As Samsung pushes ahead with its handset and tablet business, Apple is trying to keep Samsung in check.”In the suit, Apple claims that Samsung is infringing seven patents associated with user gestures like scrolling, pinching and zooming, and three patents on design. The company also asserts that Samsung replicated on-screen icons used by Apple, and it argues that the packaging used for the Galaxy devices is copied.
“Instead of pursuing independent product development, Samsung has chosen to slavishly copy Apple’s innovative technology, distinctive user interfaces, and elegant and distinctive product and packaging design, in violation of Apple’s valuable intellectual property rights,” Apple said in the complaint, according to Bloomberg.
Shares of Apple gained 0.42% to $333.40 in recent trading.
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