Samsung Countersues Apple Right Back

As we reported yesterday, Apple is suing Samsung over the Galaxy line of devices, the Tab 10.1, Tab 8.9, S Smartphone, etc. In response, Samsung today not only denied wrong doing, but announced that it is “considering a counterclaim”, according to Korean-based Yon Hap News. However, Samsung’s spokesman, Chung Jae-woong, declined to offer specifics.

He did go on to address several other points. “Though Apple is our client, it is also our rival in the mobile market,” he added. “Since [Apple] sued us, taking a legal action is inevitable.” Actually, not only is Apple a client of Samsung’s, it is Samsung’s largest client, with different sources reporting it as responsible for 4% to 32% of Samsung’s yearly revenue. Because of this, Samsung has to walk a very fine line of defending itself while trying not to completely alienate it’s largest client.

While we can’t comment on the merit of Samsung’s possible counterclaims yet, we can on Apple’s suit, since it’s already been filed in US court. The gist seems to be that Samsung’s devices copy the look and feel of Apple’s iPhone, iPad, and iPod. While this might have merit, it’s hard for me to believe, because there are some designs that are the similar out of necessity. Could Dell sue HP for making a laptop that has a screen that folds in?

The original Galaxy Tab last year was the only tablet released to compete with the iPad 1. While it wasn’t entirely successful, it obviously gave Samsung experience on how to do things right, which is why the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9 look like the best competitors out there to the iPad. This, I think, is the real reason that Samsung is who Apple is going after, rather than Motorola, who made the Xoom. While we’ll have to wait and see what the court’s think, but I personally can’t imagine Apple winning this.

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Andy Mercer

Andy Mercer is an undergraduate Civil Engineering student at Purdue University. Currently employed by ITaP (Information Technology at Purdue), he is interested in web design and programming. In his spare time he enjoys killing zombies and playing his 360.