Apple has locked horns with Samsung a few times on account of disputed design patents, and both sides have a solid number of allies.
Dozens of top design professionals, some of which council big brands such as Google, Coca-Cola, NASA, Louis Vuitton, Starbucks and Porsche, are showing their support for Apple in its seemingly never-ending patent infringement lawsuit filed against Samsung.
More than 100 design leaders signed a 63-page amicus brief, which underlines in front of the court that visual design frequently is more than just packaging, as it can become synonymous with the product itself.
Calvin Klein, Norman Foster and Dieter Rams are just some of the high-profile names on the list of Apple backers.
The designers explained their stance using the Coca-Cola bottle, which was originally a simple glass container and which basically invited rivals to copycat it. As the company understood that the packaging is just as important as the product — the uniquely shaped bottle emerged. Many believe that the shift in bottle design was the main catalyst that made the soft drink the most recognized and distributed product in the world.
"Customers routinely report that Coca-Cola tastes better when consumed from the contour bottle," reads (PDF) the filling.
According to the Apple backers, design not only pushes the sales of certain product onward and forward, but in the technology business, a great design gives companies the edge over their competitors.
Apple sued Samsung for the first time in 2011, and a year later a court decided that Samsung infringed upon Apple's design. The jury verdict said that Apple should earn $1.05 billion in damages from Samsung. In the wake of additional legal proceedings, Samsung agreed to pay $548 million to Apple. However, the company maintains the right to seek reimbursement if the high court will rule in its favor.
Additionally, they point out Samsung has a "fundamental misunderstanding of design patents," and that the "totality of the circumstances" that the Korean company proposes as a test for originality is lackluster.
The filing states that the amici have zero personal interest in whichever tech company wins the legal hassle, as many of the signees worked with Samsung, Apple, or both. Other noteworthy brands that benefited from the signees' expertise over the time are Ford, Nike, Polaroid, IBM, Hewlett Packard, Xerox, Target and Whirlpool.
The Apple versus Samsung patent infringement issue is scheduled to appear before the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 11.
Who do you think is right in the suit between the two global tech OEMs? Let us know in the comments section below.
