iPhone J.D. is a site aimed at helping lawyers use the iPhone so I usually don't talk about lawsuits involving the iPhone. Having said that, Apple filed a lawsuit against Samsung in the Northern District of California this past Friday that may be of interest to any lawyer who appreciates the iPhone. I'm not an IP attorney so I cannot offer an informed analysis of the lawsuit, but Chicago attorney Nilay Patel (who, until very recently, was an editor for Engadget) wrote a comprehensive analysis of the lawsuit that even a nonlawyer can follow. What it really comes down to is Apple claiming that Samsung copied the look of the iPhone and iPad. For example, the complaint itself includes these side-by-side pictures of phones from Apple and Samsung:
And the complaint also includes these comparisons of icons on the iPhone versus a Samsung phone:
Considering that the user interface is such an improtant part of what makes the iPhone so compelling, it will be interesting to see what happens to this lawsuit. Again, read Patel's article if you want to learn more, or if you would rather listen than read, Patel is also on yesterday's edition of the MacBreak Weekly podcast.