Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham
... and made it a different aspect ratio, and run a different operating system with a different home screen layout, hiding away those icons in an app drawer, and put a big SAMSUNG on the front just in case anyone was still in any doubt.
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Those issues don't matter. The issue is not that Samsung made a *counterfeit* iPad. The issue is that Samsung appropriated too many distinctive design elements from the iPad.
Analogies are always imperfect, but I'll use one anyway. Volvo station wagons have a distinctive look. If Ford wants to make a station wagon, they can't copy the Volvo's design. They can't copy Volvo's design even if they have a different engine under the hood. And they are still copying Volvo's design even if they make minor changes to the design - like using 16" wheels instead of 17" wheels, or if they have slightly different door handles. And it doesn't matter if the car says "Ford" and not "Volvo" on the grille.
So a different OS, slightly different aspect ratio, and different location for the icons do not really distinguish the Samsung's design from the iPad's design. Or at least make it much more difficult to do so than people seem to think.
(And, honestly, some of the Samsung's choices are just blatant rip-offs - even if we grant them the shape and edge-to-edge glass, they really didn't need to include the same type of metal rim or the grid of icons (even if you get to them by doing X instead of Y...particularly when Samsung used them in their promotional copy)
There are a lot of ways of designing a station wagon other than the Volvo way - other companies just have to choose a different design. (And while they can't be penalized for elements that are inherent in all station wagons (4 wheels, 4 doors and a hatch, etc., there are many, many ways to incorporate these elements without looking like a volvo.