The patent spat between Apple and Samsung rolls on, with Apple gaining a little ground when it comes to Samsung’s demand to see the iPhone 5 and Apple iPad 3, as apparently the judge has ruled that Sammy will not get access to Apple’s upcoming iOS products and had turned down the Samsung request.
According to an article over on 9to5 Mac, the guys at FOSS Patent Blog, apparently the judge denied Samsung’s motion for access to the iPhone 5 and Apple iPad 3 for the time being anyway and explained that although Samsung is entitled to “parity” their request was overreaching.
Good news for Apple but Apple may possibly have to wait for a preliminary injunction to halt Samsung selling the devices in question in the US as the court order contains this passage…
“Samsung is free to argue, for instance, that there is little likelihood of confusion because consumers will not encounter its products side-by-side with the iPhone 4 or iPad 2, but rather with Apple’s next generation iPhone and iPad. Similarly, as to proximity, Samsung is free to argue that because the iPhone 4 and iPhone 2 will soon be outmoded and reduced in price, they are not being sold (or very soon will not be sold) to the same class of purchasers who are likely to buy new Samsung products. By choosing to allege infringement only of its current products, Apple opens itself up to these arguments.”
Basically according to the 9to5 Mac guys this means Sammy can argue against a banning of their gear in the US because their products are up against the iPhone 4 and Apple iPad 2 and that future Apple gear will be different in appearance and thus solve the issue of Samsung gear being similar in look and feel, but again as Apple will not reveal their iPhone 5 or Apple iPad 3 design and features it’s difficult to say this would be true.
I can’t say I fully understand all the legal jargon as I’m not a lawyer, but it would appear to me that this argument still has a fair way to travel before it reaches a conclusion, and could go on until such times as Apple does release the iPhone 5 and iPad 3 and then we’ll all see if Samsung products copy the look and feel of those.
Personally I can’t understand what all the winging is all about with Apple as surely Samsung devices haven’t had an effect on Apple sales anyway, and to be quite honest, there are numerous smartphones that come close to the iPhone in appearance out there, candy-bar style, thin, ect, ect, so if Apple wins will they then be suing every other smartphone maker?