The judge hearing the Apple vs. Samsung “copy-cat” lawsuit has denied a motion by Samsung asking that Apple allow Samsung’s outside council advanced looks at iPhone 5 and iPad 3. The judge had previously granted Apple’s request for Apple’s outside council to look at Samsung’s upcoming devices, since Samsung had already shown off or given away previews to the press and public. Apple, however, keeps their stuff secret. But of course, it’s not that simple:
Samsung is free to argue, for instance, that there is little likelihood of confusion because consumers will not encounter its products side-by-side with the iPhone 4 or iPad 2, but rather with Apple’s next generation iPhone and iPad. Similarly, as to proximity, Samsung is free to argue that because the iPhone 4 and iPhone 2 will soon be outmoded and reduced in price, they are not being sold (or very soon will not be sold) to the same class of purchasers who are likely to buy new Samsung products. By choosing to allege infringement only of its current products, Apple opens itself up to these arguments.
Says Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents:
[Apple] might want to proceed cautiously and wait with a preliminary injunction motion until the iPhone 5 can be shown, or present only a tablet-related motion in the very near term and a smartphone-related one a little later.
We’ll see how bold or conservative Apple is.
And Samsung. If they really wanted to have fun with this, their CEO to start dressing in jeans and black mock turtleneck…
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