Apple Warned Samsung That Android Encouraged Others to Copy the iPhone

In much the same way your parents warned you about “hanging out with the wrong people,” Apple tried to warn Samsung that Android “encouraged” others to use Apple’s patented technology in their phones.

The Verge:

First shown to Samsung executives in August of 2010, the 67-page document lists numerous patents that Apple claims are being infringed by Samsung smartphones, and they all share one common denominator: Google’s mobile operating system. “Apple has identified dozens of examples where Android is using or encouraging others to use Apple patented technology,” the document reads, with a following bullet point noting that “Apple has not authorized the use of any of these patents.”

No specific patent claims are made in the document, however it does include several images that make clear the points Apple was trying to get across. For example, in a section with the delightful title “Samsung Copying iPhone”, the iPhone 4 is put side-by-side with the Galaxy S, showing the obvious similarities.

Apple doesn’t concentrate solely on Google’s Android as the OS that will lead licensees down the gilded path to the courtroom, as it also includes one slide that reads, “Symbian and Bada also using Apple patents.”

The presentation also includes the defining statement, “Samsung needs a license to continue to use Apple patents in infringing smartphones.”

The document was intended as a way to get a conversation started that would lead to Samsung licensing Apple’s patents, a conversation that we now know didn’t work out hoped, as we’re currently covering the court battle between the two electronics giants.

Chris Hauk

Chris is a Senior Editor at Mactrast. He lives somewhere in the deep Southern part of America, and yes, he has to pump in both sunshine and the Internet.