Apple and Samsung are at it again! Fighting and clawing at each other’s throats in the Courtroom! This time, the case is about deciding just how much of a product is constituted by its design.
The Supreme Court of the United States will hear in October a case from Apple who’s suing Samsung for stealing “core design concepts” of their iPhone.
One design to rule them all
Apple’s argument is that design is a major aspect of the product, even bigger than functionality, perhaps; because good design is what draws a consumer to the product in the first place. Consequently, all the profit made from the sale of a stolen design must go to the maker of original design.
A tale told twice
The case is essentially an extension of the 2012 ruling declaring that Samsung was guilty of infringing on the Apple’s design patents pertaining to the rounded bezels and the grid in which icons are arranged. Samsung was asked to pay up $930 million, a decision which they appealed and got the fine amount reduced to a little over half a billion dollars.
But Samsung isn’t happy yet, and it’s appealed again to reduce the damages to under $399 millions. While a case can be made for Samsung saying that half a billion dollars is a bit excessive, the real issue is not about the money at all!
Question of a different nature
A lot of designers from around the world argue that if the Court reduces the damage, it will essentially diminish the value we place on design. So the big question is: How much is design worth!?
For industries such as fashion, design is everything. Same is true for aviation, speed racing, architecture etc. People spend fortunes developing new designs everyday, in almost every field. In the tech industry, the design takes a back seat because it gets overpowered by all the talk about features!
However, Apple argues that it only happens because design copying in the tech industry is so rampant that every phone nowadays looks almost similar!
Apple’s claim also rests heavily on the fact that Apple is a very “visual” company. Their products have always been aesthetically pleasing. Minimal and simplistic designs have prominently been a huge part of Apple’s growth success. Design, in a way, is Apple’s USP, and Samsung is stealing it!
Birds of the same feather
Apple’s case is supported by a lot of big names from other industries. Support is coming from such famous designers as “Dieter Rams, Louis Vuitton, artistic director Nicolas Ghesquiere, fashion designers Calvin Klein, Paul Smith, Bentley’s design chief Stefan Hans Sielaff, architect Norman Foster and typography idol Paula Scher,” reports Quartz. The report further points out that “many signatories have designed products for the world’s leading companies including AT&T, Coca-Cola, General Electric, Xerox and, yes, even Samsung.”
Together, these people and companies have filed what is known as an amicus brief. It’s a “legal document from non-litigants with an interest in the outcome of a case.” It’s essentially a statement of support that third parties submit to the court. This is done by those parties who feel that the outcome of the case will directly affect them, and therefore, they submit arguments to support the side that’s favorable to them.
This brief claimed that “it is the design that sells the article, and so that makes it possible to realize any profit at all,” thus lending weight and validity to Apple’s argument. The claim was further strengthened by Tiffany & Co., Adidas, and Crocs filing similar briefs with Court in favour of Apple.
However, a group of other tech giants including eBay, Facebook, Dell, and Google filed a separate amicus brief supporting Samsung and iterating that Apple’s claim in damages is excessive to say the least.
Waiting for the Hammerfall
With just 7-8 weeks until the hearing, both parties are gearing up their preparation. Support is flowing in for both parties, and the case has already been declared a close call.
It’s really hard to say which way the Supreme Court will lean, however, historical precedence shows that the apex court will go back on its decision only when presented with the strongest of arguments.
All the best Apple!! We can’t wait to hear what happens.
