Nokia’s (NOK) first Lumia models may not have been top sellers, but according to Apple’s (AAPL) lawyers they do have one thing going for them: They didn’t rip off the iPhone. The Seattle Times’s Janet Tu points out that during Apple’s closing arguments in the Samsung (005930)-Apple patent trial on Tuesday, Apple attorney Harold McElhinny held up a Nokia Lumia device to demonstrate that “not every smartphone needs to look like an iPhone.” Of course, this isn’t that much comfort for Apple’s rivals since the top-selling smartphones right now — namely, the Samsung Galaxy S III and the iPhone itself — do tend to look like the iPhone. If Apple’s lawyers think citing the Lumia will ward off potential copycats in the future, they’re likely to be sorely mistaken.
