Brian Capelli | APPS | 08.28.2012 @ 5:00 pm
(In this special edition of Q & Answers, Brian Capelli responds to the same questions proposed to Q Manning yesterday.)
What’s your initial opinion on the verdict between Apple and Samsung?
The verdict is a detriment to the entire technology sector. The things that Apple sued over should be a given in design. Even clothing designers borrow ideas from everyone else. Look at cars, where rival companies produce similar products all the time. The IP that they should have been suing for wasn’t even involved! Look and feel should never have been a factor in the verdict at all.
Do you think this verdict will ultimately do more harm or good to the industry?
This will definitely do harm to the industry, yes. There will be a lot of people out there who will now think twice before trying to push innovation because they’re afraid it will be similar to what the iPhone does.
What advice do you have for Samsung at this point?
Aside from their user interface patent violations, they shouldn’t have any problem doing licensing or licensing their technology for their line of phones. For other technology, they’ll just need to come up with a workaround. As for look and feel, I think they’ll be okay moving forward. Unless future products are a blatant rip-off, they’ll be okay…and looking similar is NOT a blatant rip-off.