The most important trial in the patent war between the two companies has begun in California.

Apple founder Steve Jobs once said that he was “never ashamed of stealing great ideas.” But that doesn't stop the company he created from fiercely defending its intellectual property against Samsung, its competitor and supplier. The problem is that making processors and other components for Apple allows Samsung to create products similar to the iPhone and iPad without essentially stealing the technology. Experts don't like to comment on who is right in a huge patent dispute. "It's no coincidence that Samsung's latest products are so similar to the iPhone and iPad. This kind of blatant copying is wrong, and as we have said many times, we must protect intellectual property," Apple's official stance is expressed. Samsung believes that Apple's claims may lead to people being limited in their choice of innovative technology, and the patents registered by Apple are formulated too broadly. The war continues, Forbes talks about its main turns.

April 2011: Apple goes on the warpath

For the first time, Apple filed legal claims against its partner and at the same time competitor, Samsung, accusing it of copying the design of iPhone smartphones and iPad tablet computers.

The statement of claim alleged that Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets (which went on sale at the end of 2010) copy the design of Apple's iPhone and iPad. At the same time, in its lawsuit, Apple indicated that the “clones” have a significant difference - Samsung tablets and smartphones run on the Google Android operating system, while the iPhone and iPad use the “proprietary” iOS software platform. Three days later, Samsung filed a counterclaim against Apple, accusing it of violating ten patents owned by Samsung.

September 2011: Apple's local success

A district court in Germany has ordered a ban on local sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet, finding that Samsung deliberately copied the design of the Apple iPad. The Korean company filed an appeal, but was unsuccessful: a higher court found Samsung guilty not of violating design copyrights, which are valid throughout the European Union, but of violating the local law on fair competition. Therefore, Samsung retained the right to continue supplying tablets through its subsidiaries in other European countries.

December 9, 2011: Samsung doesn't give up

The Supreme Court of Australia has confirmed the lifting of the ban on sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet that was in force in the country. A temporary ban on its implementation was introduced in October 2011.

June 21, 2012: Samsung wins

A court in the Netherlands found Apple guilty of infringing a patent owned by Samsung Electronics and ordered it to pay compensation.

The patent describes a method for connecting a mobile device to the Internet. The judge found that this technology is used illegally by Apple in the iPhone 3G, 3GS and iPhone 4 smartphones, as well as in the first and second generation iPad tablets. The size of the fine was not disclosed, but it is known that it is proportional to the volume of sales of Apple tablets and smartphones in the Netherlands in the period from August 4, 2010 to June 21, 2011. The judge considered that it was from this date that Apple could have known about the violation.

June 27, 2012: Apple's domestic success

An American court has ruled to stop sales of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablets in the United States. A district court judge in San Jose, California, found Samsung guilty of violating tablet design patents. The condition for the ban to take effect was the requirement that Apple place a deposit in the amount of $2.6 million in case it later turns out that the ban was imposed in error. In this case, Samsung would receive compensation.

July 9, 2012: Samsung is innocent because it is bad

A London court found Samsung not guilty of violating Apple's iPad design rights when releasing the Galaxy Tab, despite their external similarity. The judge said the Galaxy Tab was "not as good" as the iPad, so consumers were unlikely to confuse the two.

July 24, 2012: a ban that Samsung is not afraid of

A German court has banned Samsung from selling the Galaxy Tab 7.7 tablet computer in Europe, satisfying part of Apple's claim. The judge considered that Galaxy Tab 7.7 is a plagiarism of Apple products, in particular the iPad computer. However, it did not satisfy another complaint from Apple - to ban the sale of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 N. Initially, the court banned the sale of the Galaxy Tab 7.7 only in Germany, and then this was extended to the entire European Union. But only Samsung itself was prohibited from selling the Galaxy Tab 7.7; this did not apply to distributors and retailers, so Samsung will not suffer losses: all devices already imported into the EU countries will most likely be sold out, and they were imported in large quantities ahead of the trial.

July 31, 2012: new trial in California

One of the most important legal proceedings in the history of the confrontation between the two companies began. As always, there are counterclaims. Apple claims Samsung is copying its design and technology and is seeking $2.5 billion in damages. Samsung accuses Apple of copying communication technologies and claims to receive payments of 2.4% from each iPhone sold.

Apple vs Samsung. History of the battle of the titans