Samsung Brazenly Files Watch Band Patent Featuring Apple Watch Design Drawings
Well this is a little awkward. Apparently Samsung invented the Apple Watch design, or so it would seem based on the South Korean electronic maker's recent patent filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The patent is for a wearable device and included in the filing are several sketches that look remarkably like the Apple Watch family.
The discovery was made by Patently Apple, a site that focuses on Apple products and services, but that doesn't diminish the finding. You can check things out for yourself by directing your web browser to Samsung's patent filing and clicking the Images button at the top. If you do that, here's a sampling of the images you'll find.
The discovery was made by Patently Apple, a site that focuses on Apple products and services, but that doesn't diminish the finding. You can check things out for yourself by directing your web browser to Samsung's patent filing and clicking the Images button at the top. If you do that, here's a sampling of the images you'll find.
Now have a look at a series of Apple Watch marketing material Apple published when it announced its wearable device in 2014.
Source: Business Insider
It's hard to defend Samsung's actions here. Clearly the drawings it provided the USPTO with its patent filing are, uh, heavily inspired by Apple Watch designs. Even the proprietary Apple Watch bands are borrowed, such as the Classic Buckle, Leather Loop, and several others.
Here's another comparison.
Source: Business Insider
It's hard to defend Samsung's actions here. Clearly the drawings it provided the USPTO with its patent filing are, uh, heavily inspired by Apple Watch designs. Even the proprietary Apple Watch bands are borrowed, such as the Classic Buckle, Leather Loop, and several others.
Here's another comparison.
The above image shows Apple's backside charging feature that Samsung doesn't use in its smartwatch line, but like the rest of the drawings, there's no mention of the reference sketch being based on an Apple design. At best, Samsung was being incredibly lazy with its patent filing.
Given the contentious history between Samsung and Apple, and specifically the latter's accusations that the former copies its designs, this is unlikely to go over well with the Cupertino outfit's legal team.
Given the contentious history between Samsung and Apple, and specifically the latter's accusations that the former copies its designs, this is unlikely to go over well with the Cupertino outfit's legal team.
