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Samsung ripped off the iPhone’s design? Not so fast…

Updated Dec 19th, 2018 8:31PM EST
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It’s inevitable: some full touchscreen phones are going to look like other full touchscreen phones. Just ask LG (066570), which saw its LG Prada design from 2006 resurrected when Apple (AAPL) unveiled the iPhone 4 in 2010. Samsung (005930) has repeatedly been accused by Apple, and bloggers, of stealing Apple’s protected smartphone and tablet designs, but newly uncovered court documents tied to the Apple vs. Samsung trial that began in San Jose, California this week suggest that might not be the case.

The image above is taken from a brief filed with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. It shows a number of smartphone designs that Samsung toyed with, and it’s true, many of them do resemble Apple’s iPhone. There’s just one problem: Samsung created these designs in early 2006, and Apple’s iPhone wasn’t unveiled until January 2007.

The filing also reveals that Samsung was working on user interface designs similar to the one made famous by iOS (and subsequently, Android) in 2006 as well.

[Via OSNews]

Read [PDF]

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.