Jeff John Roberts, writing for Fortune:
In trying to make sense of the design patents’ value, the judges repeatedly invoked the body shape of Volkswagen’s iconic Beetle model, noting that consumers will pay extra for a cool-looking car. But they drew back at saying a company, in cases of complex products, should be able to use a patent for exterior appearance to collect for the whole thing.
And:
Justice Stephen Breyer contrasted simple products like wallpaper to cars and smartphones, which are often covered by hundreds or thousands of patents and design decisions.
“For wallpaper, you get the whole thing. A Rolls Royce with the thing on the hood? No, no, no you don’t get profits on the whole car,” said Breyer.
This likens Samsung copying the iPhone look and feel to building a car that looks like the VW Beetle. Interesting point.
Man, it’s like a high-tech trolley problem.
Great analogy. All cars have similar internals in terms of functionality. The internal tech changes various aspects of individual cars in terms of performance, reliability, look/feel, quality, but the look of the car often represents all of those internals. If you make a cheap car look like a Ferrari, you are not only copying the look, but everything that look stands for including performance, luxury, and brand.
http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/features/car-culture/its-a-knock-off-chinas-copycat-cars-at-the-2015-shanghai-motor-show/
In the 1970s Ford had a car which resembled a Cadillac They even ran an ad where a woman from my home town got out of paying a parking ticket because the ticket stated that her car was a Cadillac instead of a Ford. However, there was no lawsuit and no one buying the Ford was confused about what they were buying.
Interestingly, Apple backed down from their “total profit” claim, which was much of the reason for Samsung’s appeal. Which means that it will likely end up as a loss for Apple..
Wasn’t it a Ford Granada being confused for a Mercedes in the commercial?
Yes, the Granada. But made to be similar to the Cadillac Seville. http://www.classiccarstodayonline.com/2012/06/13/the-1975-1980-ford-granada-had-a-simple-and-effective-ad-campaign-copying-the-cars-you-really-want/
Just being devil’s advocate here, but Fords and Cadillacs aren’t sold in the same places. It’s hard to accidentally buy a Cadillac at a Ford dealer.
I agree it is a different situation. In this case I believe that Samsung hoped that some people would buy their phone, thinking it was the same as an iPhone. No one selling a Granada would say that it was a Cadillac Seville. Someone might buy it due to the similarity.