Apple has rejected Samsung’s offer to settle their tablet row in Australia and make a few minor changes to their Galaxy Tab devices that compete with Apple’s iPad.
The courtroom action revolves around Apple’s claim that Samsung slavishly copied the “look and feel” of its iPhones and iPads, basically laying claim to the big touch-screen and black backing as a design concept – a claim I’ve disputed on here numerous times. But Apple’s legal team have decided that the legal victory is in sight, and they do not want to compromise and set a precedent that it is OK to copy the designs of others. Without even a whiff of irony in that statement either.
Samsung had offered to remove certain disputed features from the Galaxy Tab such as the way multi-touch input is handled by the device in order to gain a quick settlement and allow them to put their tablet on sale in Australia. That offer was apparently not good enough and Apple are happier to delay the process further as it keeps their main competition off the market after they managed to get a preliminary injunction back in August.
Apple and Samsung are currently suing each other in nine countries over 20 cases.