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Samsung Legal Motion Against Apple Indicates iPhone 5 Not Close To Production

While it appears that Samsung’s recent legal motion against Apple to see pre-production prototypes of the iPhone 5 is more likely a publicity stunt meant to steal some of the iPhone 5′s buzz, the legal motion itself reveals that the iPhone 5 is obviously still in pre-production mode. Read how this new motion indicates that the iPhone 5 probably isn’t coming to WWDC.
Folks who are holding out for a surprise release for the iPhone 5 at this year’s WWDC were dealt yet another blow to their hopes when a story broke that smartphone giant Samsung has filed a motion against Apple, accusing them of copying design aspects of their Galaxy range of smartphones for the upcoming iPhone 5. Widely covered by the tech media, IBTimes has an excellent account of the legal action, which seeks to give Samsung’s lawyers a sneak peek into the iPhone 5, stating that “the company has asked Apple to turn over its pre-production prototypes, including product packaging, by June 13 to help it ‘prepare its defense against any preliminary injunction motion brought against Samsung by Apple for trademark or trade dress infringement,’” according to the motion.
What is particularly striking about Samsung’s motion is that it explicitly admits that the company is pursuing these legal actions based upon what has been reported as rumor in the iPhone 5 press. ComputerWorld reports that “Samsung asked U.S. District Court Judge Koh to force Apple to give it ‘a sample of the final, commercial version of the next generation iPhone that Apple will release, whether that product will be known as the “iPhone 4S,” “iPhone 5,” or some other name,’ according to a motion filed in a California federal court Friday.” Samsung also makes reference to the iPhone 5 ” rumor mill” in the motion, and the fact that they reference both “iPhone 5″ and “iPhone 4s” as potential names for the next iPhone proves that they indeed read the iPhone 5 rumors religiously.
This lawsuit is most likely a publicity stunt on the part of Samsung. Similar to the coverage map legal battles between AT&T and Verizon, Samsung’s motion seems to seek to accomplish two things: first, to counter-punch Apple’s own similar successful lawsuit in the past to see Samsung’s Galaxy prototypes to ensure that they didn’t infringe on the iPhone and iPad designs, and second, to capitalize on the incredible amount of buzz that surrounds the release of the iPhone 5. Even if Samsung is unsuccessful in its bid to see the next iPhone 5, they have managed to inject their brand and product into the iPhone discussion. In this way, Samsung is using their lawsuit to prospect among iPhone users who might take a gander at their competing smartphone design.
What Samsung Knows That We Do Not About the iPhone 5′s Release Date
Anyone who knows even a little bit about law is aware of the fact that the way things are worded means something. As a result, there are some conclusions we can draw from Samsung’s legal motion about whether or not the iPhone 5 is going to be revealed at the WWDC. First, the document is asking for “pre-production prototypes, including product packaging.” It would stand to reason that, if the iPhone 5′s components were currently in production, then the motion would not be making reference to “pre-production,” which is apparently where the iPhone 5 stands at this moment.
While Samsung most likely doesn’t have insider access to Cupertino, they do use the same components manufacturer: Foxconn not only builds components for Apple, but for Samsung as well. It would not be difficult for Samsung to get a beat on where iPhone 5 production stands at Foxconn.
Second, the date that Samsung is asking for access to the iPhone 5 prototypes — no later than June 13th — is also significant. Given the fact that the WWDC runs from June 6th to the 10th, Apple would be disinclined to even announce the iPhone 5 in fear that it could stoke further legal action from Samsung ahead of them receiving the iPhone 5 specs. (It is not a coincidence that Samsung sought a date that was after WWDC.) Even if Apple had been considering an iPhone 5 announcement at WWDC, my guess is that Cupertino’s legal team would now be advising against it.
In this way, Samsung’s legal gambit against Apple is a savvy move: it sops up some of the iPhone 5 buzz, takes a stab at possibly nullifying a curved glass display on the iPhone 5, and perhaps spoils the iPhone 5 release announcement. Who said lawyers can’t be useful?
Why Samsung’s Legal Motion Is Nothing Like Apple’s

The new lawsuit by Samsung is inextricably linked to Apple’s similar previous motion, which called into question the legality of the Galaxy devices, making the argument that they shamelessly copied the iPhone and iPad. Because Apple won that court battle and was given access to the Galaxy prototypes, Samsung is now using the same argument against them.
But the two cases are quite different from one another.
In Apple’s legal motion — which started this whole court battle — their rationale for claiming patent infringement was based on technology that was already on the market, as the ComputerWorld article explains in full detail. Apple is claiming that devices like the Galaxy Tab, which is already on the market, is violating up to ten of Apple’s patents.
In Samsung’s motion, however, they are claiming that the iPhone 5 and iPad 3 — devices that don’t even exist yet — will in fact violate Samsung’s own patents. Apple is abiding by the motion, but it is astounding that iPhone 5 rumors are enough to propel such a legal motion forward. For all we know, the rumor of the curved glass display is entirely fabricated, and yet Apple will have to turn over prototypes as a result of it.

This post was written by: Irfan Jam

Irfan Jam is a professional blogger, web designer and front end web developer. Follow him on Facebook