Apple Hits Samsung with Amended Complaint, Reinforces Copycat Claims

The spat between Apple and Samsung is taking new proportions with court documents now showing that Apple is reinforcing its copycat accusations with heavier and more detailed phrasing, as well as the addition of new Samsung products and patents that are subject to infringement.

In the documents, obtained by Foss Patents, Apple stresses that “While the iPhone was an instant success, there was nothing instant about the design process.”

In an attempt to convince the Court that Samsung blatantly imitates the look and feel, as well as the functionality of the iPhone and iPad, Apple further notes that:

“Over the course of several years, Apple had teams of people working on developing each aspect of the design of the phone itself -- the shape of the phone, the materials used, and the size and placement of the mask that frames the screen -- as well as the Multi-Touch user interface, to make a product that looked and felt entirely different from prior phones on the market.”

“The end result was a very clean shape for the phone, with an entirely flat glass panel for the front, gently rounded corners and integrated casing, and intuitive touch features,” Apple’s legal department stresses.

The Cupertino tech giant addresses the Court with confidence, saying that back in 2007, when the original iPhone was introduced, “no other company was offering a phone with these features.”

“None had the clean lines of the iPhone, which immediately caused it to stand apart from the competition,” Apple expressly notes, pointing out to Samsung’s own transition from button-filled devices to more streamlined hardware.

The Mac maker goes as far as to quote select members of the media who’d reviewed Samsung’s products and drew clear similarities between the two competitors’ products, especially the iPad and the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Furthermore, the new complaint throws in Samsung’s Droid Charge, Exhibit 4G, Galaxy Ace, Galaxy Prevail, Galaxy S (i9000), Gravity, Infuse 4G, Nexus S 4G, Replenish, Sidekick, Galaxy Tab 10.1, and Galaxy S II.

While the original complaint cited seven utility patents as being infringed upon, the new documentation throws out two and adds three new ones, for a total of eight patents cited in the suit.

As many as five of them are design-related, serving Apple’s ‘trade dress’ accusations.