Throughout all of the intense court battles that Samsung has had (are still having, and will continue to have) with Apple, it looks like Samsung's learned a thing or two from their competitor.
In what might be the most ridiculous “patent” battle of any mobile phone manufacturer, Samsung has recently filed an objection with the Intellectual Property Office against LG to prevent them from using the phrase “Unpack event” in their marketing materials.
Apparently Samsung thinks they were the first company to ever use the word “unpack,” and they deservedly so should be the only company to use it. The Intellectual Property Office has since ruled that “unpack” is a common verb and can't be registered as a trademark, something a fifth grader probably could have told Samsung.
In response, LG explained that they weren't even planning on using the term in their actual media event, only in the invitations.
The two companies have clashed many times in the past, but the fact that they are clashing over something so trivial goes to show just how serious competition is in the mobile industry these days.
Source: ETNews
I “unpacked” my school lunchbox more than 50 years ago, so I think that I have greater rights to the word “unpack” than either Samsung, LG, or Apple.
These tech companies should focus on providing something that is cheaper and more useful, rather than fighting over who “invented” or “patented” something that really already existed before they were ever involved.
And stop fighting over whether you can patent a “rectangular shaped device with a screen and a bezel”, and thereby prevent everyone else from making cell phones that have such an obvious shape and design.
As a consumer I’m put off by both Apple and Samsung’s behavior. That didn’t stop me from buying an S4, but it might have if the HTC One had a removable battery and SDMicro.
Companies really need to consider the fact that these activities adversely affect marginal sales, and realize that marginal sales are the most profitable.