Can’t we all just get along? Last week we reported that Apple was suing Samsung over the look and feel of their phones, claiming that the phone, icons, and even the packaging was the same as Apple’s. Samsung responded strongly the next day, stating that Apple had “violated our patents in communications standards.”
It appears that the company was not just playing a war of words: Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Samsung filed lawsuits against Apple in South Korea, Japan, and Germany and now Bloomberg is reporting that Samsung has filed similar lawsuits against Apple in the United States. The United States lawsuit states that Apple is in violation of Samsung’s patents that, “relate to fundamental innovations that increase mobile device reliability, efficiency, and quality, and improve user interface in mobile handsets and other products.”
Companies sue each other all the time, but this battle takes on extra significance due to the close ties that the companies share. Many of the components in the iPhone and iPad are produced by Samsung, and Apple was Samsung’s second largest customer in 2010. Why the two behemoths can’t work things out behind closed doors is anyone’s guess, but we all know that the lawyers are the ones who will come out on top in these battles.