The really weird thing is that "infringing product", in the judges order, is basically equal to "product that only sells because it is ripping off the other's patent". Even though that single aspect of the product (being a rectangle with rounded corners) is obviously only a vanishingly small part of the value of the product.

I simply cannot grasp why this seemed like a good tradeoff to the judge.

This is absurd.

1. The marketing for the Galaxy Tab is far different from the marketing of the iPad.

2. Due to Apple's own rules they are usually separated into different sections in stores.

3. There are only so many form factors a tablet can take. Doesn't the Kindle Fire look suspiciously like the Playbook?

This is ridiculous and $2.6 million seems like a small amount of damages for Apple to be prepared to pay when they lose this case.

In any other industry this sort of patent would be unacceptable, it's painful to see it being upheld.

Here's the ruling:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/98367038/Galaxy-Tab-Injunction-Rul...

The injunction is being granted based on this patent:

http://www.google.com/patents/USD504889

It's a design patent granted in 2005 for an electronic device shaped like a rounded rectangle. But it cites several other patents for other devices shaped like rectangles. So is it the precise aspect ratio and thickness of their rectangle that makes it unique? But the Galaxy Tab is substantially thinner than the rectangle shown in this patent.

The new paradigm of industrial design. Design a new product, sell them 'till the trolls catch up, move on to the next product. If you can't fix the patent system, outrun it.

Look at the Microsoft Surface, it doesn't look like the iPad, it's not marketed to look like the iPad. It doesn't line up icons and UI to look like iOS.

Samsung's phones were designed to look as much like the iPhone and iPad as possible. They didn't have to do this, but they did it as a way to get sales by being "good enough" for people who couldn't get the iPhone on their network when it was AT&T only.

Now that the Galaxy phones are popular enough, they are working a little harder to look and feel different, which is to say, they no longer need to copy Apple to be successful. Hopefully soon they do the same with their tablets.

Is the Galaxy Tab 10.1 even selling anymore? I think they started replacing it with a few other products already.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Microsoft

If Apple keeps waging patent war it is going to find itself in this position.

Apple running scared.. come on Apple little afraid of competing?