The recent battle between Apple and Samsung with the intellectual property of the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S has led to Apple claiming the rights to the iPad shape.
Apple have patented the rectangle with rounded corners, this was accepted by the US patent and Trademark Office last week, this is after claims that Apple has tried to patent any oblong-shaped gadget.
The recent lawsuit between Apple and Samsung was due to Apple claiming that Samsung had copied the shape of the iPhone including the shape of the icons on the smartphone.
Samsung are disappointed with the recent decision to patent the rectangle shape, as they do not think one company can have monopoly over rectangles with round corners.
Patent iPad
The patent that was granted included drawings of the original iPad design, with the most identifying features shown in dashed lines. It explains that the broken lines are portions of the device that are not part of the claimed design.
Apple first requested the patent back in December 2010 when the first iPad was released, but it has only just been granted, the design patent covers the external design.
Lea Shaver, Associate Professor at Indiana University’s McKinney School of Law, told Wired, “This design patent gives Apple no new advantage, because no one is out there trying to market an iPad lookalike.”
It seems that no one will replicate the exact iPad design but Apple has still patented the rectangle.
Leanne is a digital marketer researching Intellectual property lawyers.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Is the patent just for the physical shape of the iPad or does that include the shape of the app’s icons as well?
The patent is just for the shape of the iPad