It started a few days when Apple filed a suite of design patents for its original iPhone in 2007. These were then followed up with a filing of a color design patent covering 193 screenshots of various iPhone graphical user interfaces.
From these filings, and also using Apple's utility patents, registered trademarks and trade dress rights, Apple fought Samsung to defend its intellectual property to enforce against Samsung. Apple sued Samsung, its component supplier and major competitor in the smartphone business. alleging in a 38-page federal complaint on April 15, 2011 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
Apple said that several of Samsung's Android phones and tablets, including the Nexus S, Epic 4G, Galaxy S 4G, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab, have infringed Apple's intellectual property, patents, trademarks, user interface and style.
This also included federal claims for patent infringement, false designation of origin, unfair competition, and trademark infringement, as well as state-level claims for unfair competition, common law trademark infringement, and unjust enrichment.
Apple Inc. vs. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. was the first of a series of lawsuits between the two companies regarding the design of smartphones and tablet computers.
