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Apple: Samsung even lifted our icons (pictures)

Apple says that not only did Samsung rip off the iPhone and iPad trade dress for many of its devices but that it also stole many of Apple's graphics. Here's a comparison Apple filed in U.S. District Court.

Greg Sandoval
Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. Based in New York, Sandoval is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. E-mail Greg, or follow him on Twitter at @sandoCNET.
Greg Sandoval
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Apple last year filed a patent suit and accused Samsung of ripping off the intellectual property behind the iPhone and iPad. Samsung countersued and alleged that Apple violated some of its patents.

Both suits are currently on trial.

Sure, people keep beating up on Apple's argument about the trade dress of the iPhone and iPad and say it's a frivolous argument about a rectangle.

But Apple's claims don't stop there. The company alleges that Samsung also snatched the ideas and work put into the graphics for those gadgets.

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Let's face it, these Samsung icons look like mash ups of different iTunes logos. But we have to wait for the jury to tell us whether this is a violation of Apple's intellectual property.
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This is what Apple told the court about Samsung's alleged use of Apple's icons:

"Samsung is also infringing Apple's icon trademarks by advertising and selling a wide variety of products using confusingly similar icons...The icons on these products were intentionally designed to look like Apple's icons and infringe Apple's trademark rights."

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Some of the Samsung devices that Apple says are equipped with stolen icons include Captivate; Continuum; Droid Charge; Epic 4G; Exhibit 4G; Fascinate; Galaxy Ace; Galaxy S (i9000); Galaxy S 4G; Galaxy S II (AT&T Edition, 4G); Galaxy S II (T-Mobile Edition); Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch; Galaxy S II Skyrocket (4G LTE); Galaxy S Showcase; Gem; Gravity Smart; Indulge; Infuse 4G; Mesmerize; and Vibrant.
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Samsung lawyers argue that the company's designers were only "inspired" by Apple's products but that their handsets are very different in important ways and that Samsung has a long history of innovation.
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The patent trial is expected to continue today and into the week. CNET will be covering it gavel to gavel.

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