• Samsung Executive: "Fighting Over Rectangles" is Unreasonable

    by
    Akshay Masand
    Published on 2012-07-31 09:38 AM
    36 Comments Comments


    According to Wired, Samsung’s Chief Product Officer Kevin Packingham recently alluded to Apple’s aggressive pursuit of patent litigation, finding it “unreasonable that we’re fighting over rectangles, that’s being considered as an infringement.” Here, the rectangles he’s referring to are Apple’s design patents which are being asserted against the Samsung Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets in a high-stakes court case that started just yesterday.

    During his interview with Wired, Packingham said Samsung is simply defending itself against claims that are “defying common sense. We’re all just scratching our heads and saying, ‘How is this possible that we’re actually having an industry-level debate and trying to stifle competition?” This was based off asserts being made against Samsung “Consumers want rectangles and we’re fighting over whether you can deliver a product in the shape of a rectangle.” Here he continued on to say that a rectangle isn’t the product of research and development investments and while some of Samsung’s products have such a shape, they aren’t considered “to be an art of science that [they’ve] created.”

    Packingham called on the technology industry as a whole to help solve what he claimed was an allegedly broken U.S. patent system by not stifling competition with design patents that are not “particularly unique, and really don’t represent intellectual property.” The South Korean electronics maker currently holds over 100,000 worldwide patents, some of which are design patents though the product chief is quick to point out that they are “not as simple as the rectangle” alluding to Apple’s iPhone patent. He described Apple as the lone aggressor among patent-holding tech companies. Packingham mentioned the following:

    In the current environment, there’s just one company that’s firing the first shot consistently. Most everybody else seems to be getting along really well. There are a few areas where there has been some contention recently, but if you look at those areas of contention, they were legitimate and people were able to come to terms, business terms, that were reasonable. That’s the way the system should work."
    A California jury trial regarding the matter started just yesterday to help resolve the issue. It is currently being seen as one of the most important patent cases in recent U.S. history.

    Source: Wired
    This article was originally published in forum thread: Samsung Executive: "Fighting Over Rectangles" is Unreasonable started by Akshay Masand View original post
    1. Categories:
    2. iPhone,
    3. iOS,
    4. Apple,
    5. iPad
    Comments 36 Comments
    1. Airwaves182's Avatar
      Airwaves182 - 2012-07-31, 10:01 AM
      I have mostly Apple products and I'm on Samsung's side! But some of Samsung's icons does kinda look like Apple's icons & the S voice looks like Siri.
    1. NakedFaerie's Avatar
      NakedFaerie - 2012-07-31, 10:36 AM
      Apple NEED to loose a lot of these pathetic cases.
      The only reason Apple sue Samsung is because they know Samsung have a better product and Apple cant compete against such a good product so they sue them and try to ban the better product instead of making a better product themselves.
    1. rkswat's Avatar
      rkswat - 2012-07-31, 11:07 AM
      I agree with both of you. If Henry ford could of cornered the market with a patent for "motorized vehicle with 4 wheels" he would of cleaned house....... What other design does one expect a phone to come in?
    1. hank197857's Avatar
      hank197857 - 2012-07-31, 11:41 AM
      "better" is a matter of interpretation. that being said, an argument over basic shapes is something only the lawyers can appreciate.
    1. pakv's Avatar
      pakv - 2012-07-31, 11:50 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by NakedFaerie View Post
      Apple NEED to loose a lot of these pathetic cases.
      The only reason Apple sue Samsung is because they know Samsung have a better product and Apple cant compete against such a good product so they sue them and try to ban the better product instead of making a better product themselves.
      LOL... I bet you think you're right, ah and stop trying to type on your galaxy s whatever under the sunlight, because you end up changing the only verb that you came here to write.
      But I agree with you Samsung as a much better product for those people I like to carry cheap plastic on their pockets and pretend it is a phone... Lol
    1. scottjl's Avatar
      scottjl - 2012-07-31, 01:12 PM
      If they didn't want to get sued over it, they shouldn't have pretty much copied Apple's design, hell it's been shown even the cables, power brick and box were pretty much ripoffs! Don't tell me they couldn't have used any other design.

      Samsung is only crying foul because they're the one being sued, if someone copied off their designs they'd be suing them, any company that says otherwise is full of it.
    1. awsy44's Avatar
      awsy44 - 2012-07-31, 01:15 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by hank197857 View Post
      "better" is a matter of interpretation. that being said, an argument over basic shapes is something only the lawyers can appreciate.
      Apple is becoming more and more pathetic, after SJ passed away, i feel that apple has been going backwards in technology, tim cook is useless and I doubt apple will bring anything new this year with the iphone 5, let people make products and stop these ridiculous cases, I have an ipad 2 , iphone 4 and my wife has a 4s and i have a macbook pro 2011, i am considering my next phone to be an S3 because it brings me joy to see a big screen and to feel that the phone is much more powerful, lighter than the out-dated looking compared to the S3 and the HTC one x, hope i wont get bashed.
    1. scroogelives's Avatar
      scroogelives - 2012-07-31, 01:28 PM
      The only thing Samsung is really bothered about is the fact apple got in first! And let's face it if it was the other way round then apple would be the one saying this!! As to the s3 might have a nice screen but let's face it it's cheap and plastic! Still I would like to see a thinner iPhone!
    1. Nerd's Avatar
      Nerd - 2012-07-31, 01:48 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by scroogelives View Post
      The only thing Samsung is really bothered about is the fact apple got in first! And let's face it if it was the other way round then apple would be the one saying this!! As to the s3 might have a nice screen but let's face it it's cheap and plastic! Still I would like to see a thinner iPhone!
      They have their reason to make cheap plastic,first they can cut down on the price and second it's lighter and thinner, i have both iphone 4s and samsung s3 even the s3 a lot bigger but it's lighter than the iphone.The back glass on the iphone if you drop it will shatter and it will cost about $100 to replace the back plate while the s3 it cost only about $10 for a brand new one on ebay.The iphone outside look nicer but some people care about the outside look and some people don't,i don't care about the outside look,i need only the good hardware inside.
    1. H4CK3R's Avatar
      H4CK3R - 2012-07-31, 01:56 PM
      For god's sake he knows it violates patents, admit it bro...
    1. dsg's Avatar
      dsg - 2012-07-31, 02:35 PM
      I think patent battles should be solved with a fist fight between the CEOs of the company's involved
    1. jjk454ss's Avatar
      jjk454ss - 2012-07-31, 02:43 PM
      iPhone back plates are still $29 as far as I know, not $100. And it's funny how people can still after all this time care about specs, what's inside. Apple has proved this is not evn close to being what matters.

      As far as litigation and protecting patents, if Apple didn't do this, we would have no innovation at all. Look at what Samsung, Google, etc have already copied from Apple. If they could, I think they would just create an iPhone themselves.
    1. Nerd's Avatar
      Nerd - 2012-07-31, 02:58 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by jjk454ss View Post
      iPhone back plates are still $29 as far as I know, not $100. And it's funny how people can still after all this time care about specs, what's inside. Apple has proved this is not evn close to being what matters.

      As far as litigation and protecting patents, if Apple didn't do this, we would have no innovation at all. Look at what Samsung, Google, etc have already copied from Apple. If they could, I think they would just create an iPhone themselves.
      Apple is such a patent troll. The S-Voice feature in the GS3 is derived from Vlingo's tech that existed prior to Siri.
      I suspect that this is Apple's ploy all along. To try to disrupt a product right before it launches so that it loses it's popularity with the public. They tried the same with HTC recently. As far as I can see Apple has never invented anything. They are a great marketer and purchaser of others' patents. But as companies become mega-goliaths instead of spending money on R&D and improved production lines they use the courts to improve their bottom line and hurt consumer choice and buying power.
    1. HotBlack's Avatar
      HotBlack - 2012-07-31, 03:15 PM
      When your the most valuable public company in the world with over $400 BILLION DOLLARS to play with, you play the game. Why wouldn't you? Nothing really to lose, some treading over your competition to be gained. They would be fool not to. But they are total [...] for it all the same. Seeking to stay on top through legal battling is weak and very unsportsmanlike conduct.
    1. td1439's Avatar
      td1439 - 2012-07-31, 03:33 PM
      The real problem is whoever decided Apple should be given patents for shapes and colors. That's just asinine. That being said, if Apple was so confident in the quality of their products, you'd think they would lay off the endless lawsuits.
    1. NeoReaper's Avatar
      NeoReaper - 2012-07-31, 04:41 PM
      so ive been following these lawsuits for quite some time now and i guess some ppl would consider me a stupid apple fanboy because i really do side with apple on these lawsuits. my reason for siding with them is as follows:

      1. they werent the first company to file a design patent for a tablet computing device. im under the impression that if they hadnt filed a patent for their deisign, another company could in theory claim that apple is "copying" them, so wouldnt this actually be apple protecting itself rather than "apple's stupid for patenting a rectangle"?

      2. i strongly disagree with the uk judge claiming simplicity is obvious. in actuality, adding complexity is obvious. think about the evolution of the windows OS. think about evolution of videogames (ie FPS, RTS, RPG, and fighting games) they only got more complex with each subsequent release. look at all the mp3 players on the market before the ipod came out, each manufacturer tired to make it more complex with more "features". i really think that simplicity goes against the grain on typical "obviousness" when it comes to improving things in the technology sector. look at how many buttons are on "gaming" mice. look at the android OS, it has more physical buttons 3-4 depending on ur device and very complex menus.

      well i hope someone will take some time and consideration in my view and post a follow up if they disagree. most of the ppl ive spoken to in my life agree with me on my points but then again ive converted everyone i know into an "apple fanboy".
    1. metropower's Avatar
      metropower - 2012-07-31, 05:05 PM
      I think that they should have a physical fight to the death. Winner takes all :P Really though, if I wasn't an iPhone user and wanted something very similar, I'd buy the Samsung phone. But we all know that there is no real comparison, especially when your iOS device is jail broken.
    1. shifted7's Avatar
      shifted7 - 2012-07-31, 05:11 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by Nerd View Post
      They have their reason to make cheap plastic,first they can cut down on the price and second it's lighter and thinner, i have both iphone 4s and samsung s3 even the s3 a lot bigger but it's lighter than the iphone.The back glass on the iphone if you drop it will shatter and it will cost about $100 to replace the back plate while the s3 it cost only about $10 for a brand new one on ebay.The iphone outside look nicer but some people care about the outside look and some people don't,i don't care about the outside look,i need only the good hardware inside.
      So both phones are relatively the same price to repair the backs...front screens on the other hand...

      I have repaired both and I know for a fact that newer Samsung screens are on average 5 times the price for parts. Feel free to look up an iPhone 4s Digitizer/LCD...should be roughly $28-35 at any good wholesaler. Galaxy SII @ $159.99. Simply put, in my experience, (note, not opinion) Samsung smartphones are more expensive to repair on the majority.


      Back on topic, despite my opinion on the matter of shapes being patented, Apple in fact has the patent and the legal right to defend that. That is the issue here, not what we think about each phone or company or how frivolous the suits are.
    1. PokemonDesigner's Avatar
      PokemonDesigner - 2012-07-31, 05:15 PM
      I've never owned a thing from Samsung but I'm completely on their side. Crapple needs to stop trying to sue people for the stupidest of reasons. Wow, we have a white phone that is about 4-inches and so do they, we have to sue them immediately. Wow, we have a black tablet and so do we, let's sue them immediately. Really? And not to mention suing for S voice is stupid when it's based off Vlingo which was around before Siri which was just purchased by apple so no one else could have it and so they could stand a chance against android and other smartphones.
    1. Checksum47's Avatar
      Checksum47 - 2012-07-31, 05:25 PM
      I own plenty of Apple products. But I have to side with Samsung. So if Apple had its way. No one could ever produce a rectangular smart phone in black? Thats like saying Nike has a patent on shoe laces and if another company comes up with a footwear device that uses shoe laces they are gonna sue.
      The only reason Apple likes to sue is that they overcharge for their products. They dont want the masses to see that anything even remotely similar can be sold for a fraction of the price. Its like a drug dealer who gets pissed that their is a new dealer in town selling stuff for 1/2 price.
      Besides, that Samsung Galaxy looks awesome. Why cant Apple come out with a smart phone that nice and big? Are they afraid that they dont own the patent on a 4.7 inch screen?
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