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.