Apple ups the ante in Samsung �copy cat� lawsuit

There are 2 types of patents at play here (there are 3 total types but 1 doenst apply): design patents and utility patents. Design patents are exactly how they sound- for the design/aesthetics of a product. Utility patents go tot he functionality of a product.

I think they have a decent chance actually. Samsung UI very clearly is imitating iOS icons, its very apparent. That's a design patent violation. I dont know about all of the devices they listed there, but at least a few iterations of the Galaxy line are direct knockoffs of the 3G/3GS design with the chrome ring etc.

I would also say its arguable that a lot of phone designs did copy the iphone. Name a "black slab" device prior to the iphone. There were none, and all these companies are kind of making i-clones of the design in a way. I don't know what the exact patent covers regarding the design, but it could be an arguable point.

(below are the utility/design patents claimed violated)

I think there are a few design patent violations there that Apple could win on actually. Odds are though it will settle before it gets that far.

Utility (i.e., hardware and software) patents:
two out, three in, now eight in suit

The original complaint asserted (among other IPRs) seven utility patents. That number has gone up by one. Apple threw out two but introduced three new ones.

These are the two that got dropped:

U.S. Patent No. 7,669,134 on a "method and apparatus for displaying information during an instant messaging session" (a software patent)

U.S. Patent No. 7,863,533 on a "cantilevered push button having multiple contacts and fulcrums" (a hardware patent)

And these three got added:

U.S. Patent No. 7,663,607 on a "multipoint touchscreen" (a hardware patent)

U.S. Patent No. 7,864,163 on a "portable electronic device, method, and graphical user interface for displaying structured electronic documents" (a software patent positioned as a computer-implemented invention with a view to the European legal framework)

U.S. Patent No. 7,920,129 on a "double-sided touch-sensitive panel with shield and drive combined layer" (a hardware patent)

Design patents

Apple dropped one of the three design patents it originally asserted: U.S. Design Patent No. D602,016 on an "electronic device".

Apple now asserts five new design patents:

U.S. Design Patent No.D617,334 on a "graphical user interface for a display screen or portion thereof"

U.S. Design Patent No. D604,305 on a "graphical user interface for a display screen or portion thereof"

U.S. Design Patent No. D593,087 on an "electronic device"

U.S. Design Patent No. D622,270 on an "electronic device"

U.S. Design Patent No. D504,889 on an "electronic device"