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Comments: 'Thank you Apple for confirming that you invented the rectangle'
Editor's note:Â We're listening to you. Every day, we spot thought-provoking comments from readers. Here's some comments we noticed today.
Apple and Samsung have been involved in a long battle over the design of Samsung devices that Apple says were "ripped off" from iPads and iPhones. Samsung also countersued Apple for infringing on some of its patents. After a federal jury in California recommended Friday that Apple be awarded more than $1 billion in damages, readers are talking about patents and the ways people define product designs.
Jury: Samsung should pay Apple more than $1 billion
Many readers were outraged, saying Apple's suit appeared malicious.
Jerad Howell: "What a ridiculous verdict. There are only so many ways you can design a touchscreen device. Apparently, this jury believes that Apple should be allowed to have a monopoly on touchscreen tablets and phones."
ogive17: "Apple's new motto 'litigate, not innovate.' Yes, I wanted Apple to lose."
Stnley Kubrick: "This sucks. Sanity once again defeated."
But some said there were some obvious design similarities.
TheH0LYT0AST: "For the life of me I don't understand how anyone can look at the picture at the top of this article and say, 'What? I don't see anything wrong with that.' "
Clint4CNN: "GOOD! Samsung is a thief, and they got caught!"
Nicholas Bloom: "Like Apple needs the money. They charge an arm and a leg for their products. Fair is fair, though."
Some made jabs at the U.S. patenting system.
kalatu: "Thank you Apple for confirming that you invented the 'rectangle.' "
justanother1: "No, because they get patents like 'rounded edges' and 'making a line on a touch screen' and then use their million dollar lawyers to sue anybody that dares to compete against them."
Ribbons21: "It seems like Apple has been allowed to patent way way too many things. I use Apple products (laptop and iPad), but my phone is a Samsung galaxy nexus. Trying to sue competitors out of business because the patent office allowed patents like slide to unlock is just ridiculous in my opinion."
Bull31: "I agree. Samsung obviously ripped off Apple's technology."
wave9x: "Awesome win for innovation, terrible loss for copycats. Buh bye Samsung – try to come up with your own ideas. Doubt anything worthwhile will come of that!"
alientech: "Before the iPhone, smart phones had keyboards and looked like the Blackberry. After the iPhone, smart phones have touchscreens and look like the iPhone. Apple's idea was obviously worth copying."
Readers debated what was going on with Apple.
Tom Thompson: "This is why I dislike Apple products so much.Their hardware has always been cutting edge and pretty cool but this proprietary take-no-prisoners business model is the same reason they fell from grace in the '90s. Not only do they not play nicely with others, their devices don't either. Compatibility across platforms is an essential requirement for a piece of technology to proliferate. Once the Kool-Aid and novelty wears off people will wake up and realize it's not worth paying twice as much for a device and Apple will be left in the dust once again!"
Daktaklakpak: "No, the reason they fell from grace in the '90s was because of being continually ramrodded my Microsoft, and having all their software innovations blatantly ripped off by the competition. This is the first time in history that a major decision like this has gone Apple's way. It probably does have to do with them suddenly being the big kid on the block, but they deserved some vindication all along."
Does it matter to the end user?
809do.com: "This situation is getting annoying! It's like a bunch of male teenagers comparing their rod sizes! In the end, these legal battles will hurt the evolution of software and hardware technologies big time ..."
TheH0LYT0AST: "How is copying = evolving?"
What do you think? Do you take one side or another? Share your opinion in the comments area below and in the latest stories on CNN.com. Or sound off on video via CNN iReport.
Compiled by the CNN.com moderation staff. Some comments edited for length or clarity.
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@cnnbrk on Twitter
Superman I would love to have pepperoni pizza with you but I add beets to mine. That helps with irregularity.
Kenney Rogers, are you NOT playing nice in the sandbox again? The message is treat others how you wish to be treated. Better pay attention young man, your tally sheet is starting to look lopsided!
Hi. my name is really Hermie. Can you guess why?
You just forgot which name you were trolling under. Admit it.
Whoever you are Fister Rogers, well done.
Alex, leave the people alone and get back to disciplining little fister. He tinked on the rug again. Then kha.
Liar!
Apple is our GOD
Yeah, Apple did invent Iphone but not touch screen. I have seen touchsreen long before Iphone came into the market.
If someone wanna to make something round like a wheel. Do they need to go all the way to the US of A to apply for a patent?
If you say Apple invented RECTANGLE. That's cool. Even the pyramids of Egypt are not rectangles. They are SQUARE.
US court rules for US company. Surprising?
@Hahn
I'm not so sure you want to deal so much with the Patent Office. The communists want to see the U.S. give Russia a key to it.
Everyone who's sitting there praising the iPhone and shunning Samsung knows that Apple buys parts from Samsung that go in their iPhones, right?
Yeah they buy them...they do not steal the technology to make them then produce them themselves.
Lewis,
Your plain wrong. Apple used Foxcon to make their parts. Samsung will use Foxcon from time to time as well. You may find the the memory they used for storage could be Samsung (bulk) but not a deliberate act.
Saffman, you're incorrect actually. Foxcon does the manufacturing of the final bill of materials from sub contract suppliers like Samsung or Sharp. They are a fierce force of 100s of thousands of Asians that assemble circuit card assemblies and screens with iphone cases together. Foxcon doesn't make IC's, they don't make LCD's, they don't make batteries etc... They make iphones from parts other people make. They might do some pick and placing for CCA's but I'm not sure that make sense in the case of iphone.
Apple is dead, the vision is gone and it's products constantly are less impressive. You had something good at one time but your iOS is a walled garden that becomes a prison. I am looking forward to Windows 8 for sure and I will make sure I buy a Samsung on my next purchase.
Ridiculous. Apple's products continue to be cutting edge and innovative. Without protection from those who would simply copy and use what they create, what incentive would there be to innovate and create if you knew that someone would rip you off of your creation? Patents are there for a reason. Without PROTECTION, there will be no INNOVATION.
my desk, notebook, old mobile phone, table, mirror, fridge, pencil case, tv, bags and even my Bible have rounded corners.. sorry apple!
Steve Jobs from beyond the grave wins lawsuit!