Apple wants to ban at least 8 Samsung Phones
Having won the epic court battle some have referred to as iCourt, Apple has requested a ban on the sale of these 8 phones that it claims infringed on its patents and trade dress:
- Galaxy S II 4G
- Galaxy S II (AT&T variant)
- Galaxy S II Skyrocket
- Galaxy S II (T-Mobile Variant)
- Galaxy S II Epic 4G (Sprint Variant)
- Galaxy S Showcase
- Droid Charge
- Galaxy Prevail
Most of these phones are outdated, particularly since the release of the Samsung Galaxy S3. However Apple may be hoping that this will set a precedent for them to ban additional phones at a later date.
My personal opinion and view of #iCourt:
Analyzing and deconstructing the existing and competing products in your industry and ensuring your own products meet the same requirements and user expectations has been a standard practice in product development since its conception. Any company that doesn’t have a firm grasp of that won’t last very long.
I don’t feel that Apple’s trade dress claims or patents were as valid as they led the jury to believe, due to the fact most of the concepts existed in prior art going back so far as the 1980s. Samsung even proved in my opinion that Apple’s iPhone product was inspired by a Sony design philosophy.
But beyond that even if and that is a big if, Samsung did copy, I feel that Apple doesn’t have the right to challenge and punish them since their is no code of “honor among thieves”. Steve Jobs has said himself that this method of product development of stealing from the best is what makes Apple products great. You can watch the youtube video where he says it below. You can’t say something like that and then rationalize pushing out your competition for copying you.
Further more I think it was a mistake on Apple’s part for several reasons:
Its driving down the retail cost of Samsung Android retail handsets that are comparable to the iPhone 4 less than a month before the release of the new iPhone. Price is one the P’s of marketing and Apple just handed Android an increase in marketshare even if it results in slightly reduced profits.
iCourt has put forth a very unpleasant brand image for Apple in the mind of some consumers, instead of making headlines or gaining media attention surrounding more of the upcoming product release announcements, people have gotten to hear about how they are trying to “edge out” the competition which limits consume choices. If you wanted to win people away from Andriod and embrace the Apple brand, painting yourself as an alleged “bully and monopoly monger” is not (in my opinion) a good brand strategy.
All and all we will have to wait and see how this plays out and what other devices if any this ends up effecting. Looks like once again, Apple wins and consumers lose (choices).
Leave your response!