ITC judge hints at Apple strength in Samsung patent claims

1160(63)2updated 04:20 am EDT, Fri June 1, 2012 May use Cheech and Chong 'test' for infringement

The ITC judge overseeing Apple's ongoing patent infringement case against Samsung's Galaxy Tab and smartphone lines referred to a famous comedy routine by the comic duo Cheech and Chong as a test for infringement, a possible hint that the judge is favoring Apple's claims. The test refers to a straightforward way to identify a copy: "Does it look like it, feel like it, smell like it?" Apple has asserted that Samsung "slavishly copied" the look and feel of various Apple products.Samsung's claim that it researched such things as tablet and smartphone design on the contested items, which include the Galaxy Tab, for "decades" and spent $3.5 billion in research only to come up with designs remarkably similar to the iPhone and iPad (see below) strains credulity, but in its defense the company has also pointed to its long history in the industry (prior to Apple's entry in the market) and differing designs on other products in order to establish the premise that it didn't need to copy Apple's designs.

Samsung's attorney argued in court yesterday that the company "is also known for its

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