Apple tells Samsung how it can and can't design smartphones and tablets

With all of the action in the courtroom battles between Samsung and Apple happening in other parts of the world, we haven't heard too much lately with regards to the U.S. case, where Apple claims that Samsung infringed on a number of its design and trade dress patents. Well, now we finally have something to talk about, as documents from the case detailing what Apple thinks Samsung could do to not infringe upon its patents have made their way to the public.

Since Samsung has claimed that it has had no choice but to design its devices in a way that look similar to Apple's existing products, the onus has been placed on Apple to prove that Samsung has other options, and it appears Apple has done just that with its recommendations to Samsung. Apple's courtroom documents say that if Samsung were to follow certain guidelines when designing its products, it would not be infringing on Apple's design patents and the two companies would not be fighting in court. Reading the guidelines that Apple has released almost makes one laugh, as they can be quite specific. According to the The Verge, some of the smartphone design options that Apple provided to Samsung include a front surface that isn't black; overall shape that isn't rectangular, or doesn't have rounded corners; display screens that aren't centered on the front face and have substantial lateral borders; non-horizontal speaker slots; front surfaces with substantial adornment; and no front bezel at all.

It seems that Samsung may have already taken some of these guidelines to heart with the Galaxy Tab 10.1N that it recently released in Germany. Samsung specifically said that the design of the Galaxy Tab 10.1N was changed to not infringe on Apple's design patents, though it seems that Apple says the changes were not enough. The 10.1N differs from the 10.1 in that it has a metal bezel that extends to the front of the device and vertical speaker slots along the side. Apple has already filed to have the 10.1N blocked from sale in Germany, so it appears that the cosmetic changes were not quite enough to satisfy Apple's lawyers.

It is now up to the courts to decide whether or not Samsung has room to change its designs or if the modifications it has made are enough to differentiate its products from Apple's, At the current time, the U.S. government has not banned the sale of any of Samsung's products, though the possibility for that to happen is still out there.