Apple Made To Specify Design Alternatives For Samsung

Apple and Samsung have been embroiled in a worldwide legal battle for months regarding the South Korean manufacturer's smartphones and tablets infringing on the Cupertino company's designs and patents. Documents have surfaced today revealing that in seeking to ban Samsung's devices, Apple had to provide design workarounds to clarify exactly what sorts of designs would not be considered infringing. The list of alternatives is quite humorous.

When it comes to smartphones, Apple suggests Samsung to design devices that do not have a front surface that is black, do not have a shape that is rectangular or do not have rounded corners, and that the front surface should have substantial adornment as opposed to a sleek clean surface.

Tablets should also not be rectangular or not have rounded corners. They should have thick frames with a front surface that doesn't lie entirely flat. Also, the profiles should not be thin and the interface should have a cluttered appearance.

It's fascinating that Apple actually made these suggestions, essentially telling Samsung to design devices that are thick, ugly, overly adorned, and cluttered-looking. And it seems like Samsung has already begun making some of these changes by releasing a new Galaxy Tab 10.1N version that includes thicker vertical frames that slightly protrude from the screen.

Although the new 10.1N has made it onto retailer shelves in Germany, it doesn't seem to satisfy Apple either as it is seeking a ban on this revised design as well.

[via TheVerge]