News

Apple's Samsung Copy Case Hinges on Cheech and Chong Test

May 31, 2012

By Susan Decker, ©2012 Bloomberg News

(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc.'s claim that Samsung Electronics Co. copied the design of the iPhone may hinge on what a U.S. trade judge today described as the "Cheech and Chong test."

"Does it look like it, feel like it, smell like it?" U.S. International Trade Commission Judge Thomas Pender said at the beginning of Apple's patent-infringement trial against Samsung, referring to a routine in which the comedy duo identified dog feces.

Apple contends Samsung's phones and Galaxy Tab tablet computer copy designs on the look and front face of the iPhone, and they also infringe patents related to the user interface and headset plugs. The Cupertino, California-based iPhone maker is asking the ITC to block imports of Samsung products that violate Apple's patent rights.

This article is found in its entirety on the San Francisco Chronicle website.