Apple and Samsung have been at each other’s throats for a good couple of years now, and the ill-feeling stems – for the most part – from Apple’s firm belief that it’s Korean rival has been plagiarizing its designs and passing them off as their own.
The picture of the Samsung Galaxy S alongside the iPhone 3GS has become an iconic feature of the entire debate, and whether the LCD specialist is guilty of patent infringement on a grand scale or not, the stark similarities between the two are plain for all to see.
The Galaxy S debate is merely the tip of the iceberg, though, and lawyers from both of the respective camps have been traipsing around the world after each other, squabbling through the courts in an oft-childish debate which almost always spills over into the ridiculous.
Tim Cook’s more placid nature compared with the somewhat more matter-of-fact Steve Jobs mannerism was seen as an area whereby the debate could be calmed. After all, Jobs’ clear-the-air talk with Eric Schmidt regarding Google’s supposedly flagrant theft of Apple ideas resulted in a famous rant from the Apple co-founder in which he vowed to go “thermonuclear” in destroying Android, as highlighted in the Walter Isaacson biography.
Apple and Samsung have just completed a forced two-day summit to try and find some resolutions before the court date of May 21, but according to a Korea Times report, a Samsung official confirmed the unsurprising news that no common ground could be achieved.
According to the report, Samsung CEO Choi Gee-Sung travelled to the US to meet Apple’s head honcho Tim Cook, as ordered by the Northern District Court of California, to try and settle the matter out of court and prevent costly, tiresome legal proceedings. But given both have been through that rigmarole already, neither were prepared to back down.
Thus, the saga continues, and the patent battle will proceed once again on June 27. Samsung remains defiant that Apple used its wireless transmission technologies, and should pay royalties as such, while Apple is, of course, still miffed about the various design elements Samsung has supposedly stolen and passed off as its own innovations.
So there you have it, folks; the gloves are off, and this battle will only intensify with the summer heat!
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