The epic showdown between electronics giants Apple and Samsung appears to be winding down. While the results have been mixed, Apple has scored the largest victories, landing a 1 billion dollar verdict in the United States and the right to demand licensing fee for a wide range of software features and hardware design elements.
While the 1 billion dollar award is a staggering sum for a patent lawsuit and one of the largest awards on record, the far-reaching implications could be far greater. The patent protection afforded to Apple is wide-ranged and essentially means that no smart-phone maker can produce a smart-phone that even resembles Apple’s iPhone in look, feel, or use.
For those unfamiliar with the case, the patent battle has had little to do with hardware and more to do with “design” elements, such as finger and hand gestures for controlling touch screens and icon designs. Apple also won protection for hardware related elements, such as “ornamental design” patents covering the general look and feel of the iPhone and the allegation that Samsung has copied off of the iPhone, essentially producing “clones.” The sweeping nature that has been granted to Apple essentially means that companies cannot produce phones that resemble the iPhone.
In Samsung’s view, Apple will hinder innovation and the development of the smartphone market. Samsung has argued that Apple’s patents are too wide-sweeping and will choke creativity in the market place. According to Samsung , Apple’s patents do not protect propriety elements of a particular smartphone, but instead seek to block off the smartphone market so that Apple gains money either through licensing or through the sale of their own smartphones.
On the other hand, Apple’s victory could actually spur the development of new and creative smartphones and operating systems. Apple has argued that Samsung’s phones are essentially iPhone clones with an operating system nearly identical in look and feel and phones and a cursory glance at Samsung’s line-up supports this argument. Most of Samsung’s smartphones now share similar hardware specs with the iPhone. Rectangles with a very similar look and feel to the iPhone, coupled with four inch screens and a simple touch operating system with square icons.
Samsung will now be forced to develop an operating system (OS) that is substantially different from Apple’s Operating System. The current Android-based Samsung OS is nearly identical to the iPhones OS: a simple “desktop” with square icons for different applications. The next Samsung OS will have to be dramatically different in order to avoid future lawsuits or licensing payments. Rumors are even swirling that Samsung could jump on the Windows 8 bandwagon.
By forcing other smartphone makers to develop radically new operating systems, Apple could actually be shooting itself in the foot. The next OS may finally address the perceived lack of functionality with both the Apple and Samsung operating systems. Many users have commented that while the operating systems are great for personal use, they lack business functionality and integration with computers and other systems.
The same will go for Samsung’s hardware design. The Samsung Galaxy Ace, for example, looks eerily like an iPhone, to the point of confusing consumers and reviewers. Now that Samsung cannot merely copy Apple’s design, they may come up with truly innovative and trend-setting designs that will not only match but surpass Apple’s iPhone.
Predicting what breakthroughs, if any, will occur is difficult, however Samsung and other phone makers will now be forced out of their “comfort zone.” They will no longer be able to rely on the “tried-and-proven” iPhone model and will have to invest operating systems and designs that have never been seen before. This could lead to a whole new period of innovation in terms of both design and function for hardware and software. What the future holds, nobody knows but if non-Apple smartphone makers step up their game competition could become fierce and consumers will stand to benefit.