Monday, May 30, 2011

Why Samsung Gets a Look at the iPad3 and You Don't


Well, first, they haven't actually gotten to look at it yet -- that's in the hands of Judge Koh of the Northern District of California. And, second, Samsung had to get sued by Apple for trademark and trade dress infringement to even get to ask for the right to see it, so unless you really want to get sued by Apple, you might want to just be patient.

This all came about because of Apple's lawsuit against Samsung's Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets. Apple claims that these products look too much like the iPhone and iPad and violate Apple's registered trademarks and trade dress. Samsung, of course, says that they have been using these designs for years and that Apple's trademarks are invalid, besides.

What this particular fight is about is that Apple asked for what is called "expedited discovery" (i.e. much faster than normal) against Samsung, asking for the designs of as-yet-unreleased Galaxy products to support a planned preliminary injunction motion.

Samsung fired back, asking for expedited discovery of Apple's unreleased iPhone and iPad designs so that it could defend itself by showing that there was no likelihood of confusion. Samsung argued that under the famous "goose/gander" rule, Judge Koh had already advised Apple firmly that any discovery in the case would be reciprocal.

This motion, just filed last Friday, has yet to be decided, but I don't think Judge Koh is going to make Samsung's attorneys line up outside the Apple store to get the discovery they need

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