Chinese cloner says it may sue Apple over iPad
updated 07:15 am EST, Mon February 1, 2010
Shenzhen Great Loong Brother claims first
China's Shenzhen Great Loong Brother today threatened that it might sue Apple for allegedly cloning one of its tablet PCs with the iPad. A company spokesman claims the Apple design resembles the black bezel, chrome trimmed P-P-P88 tablet it released in 2009. Since both have roughly 10-inch touchscreens and are technically sold in the US, SGLB could theoretically challenge Apple for cloning its design where the complainant itself has often produced clones of its own.
The P88 itself partly resembles an oversized iPhone but is essentially a touch-only Windows netbook that runs an Intel Atom chip, a conventional 250GB hard drive and an internal DVD drive. It weighs just under 2.3 pounds and has roughly one hour of battery life despite being noticeably thicker and having typical PC expansion ports.
Apple has declined to comment and normally remains silent on possible or ongoing lawsuits. The firm is often sued by patent houses for alleged infringement but is seldom accused of copying someone else's physical design. [via PCWorld]












I'm going to sue too.
02/01, 07:38am reply
I'm going to sue Apple too because in all the iPad promotional videos, they use hands that look like mine. If I didn't know better, I would think that thumb actually belonged to me.
MyJelleo
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jan 2010
Can't compete then sue
02/01, 07:47am reply
Seriously! First, it doesn't look like an iPad except for being black and silver, all those buttons sticking out of it. How many variations of a 10" tablet can there be? Second, they design their tablet to try and resemble an oversized iPhone, then when Apple, the creator of the iPhone, comes out with an oversized iPhone (for arguments sake, not saying it is an oversized iPhone) then they try and sue them. c*** like this is extremely retarded. I hope they wise up and turn their may sue into a not sue otherwise they will probably spend a lot of money on nothing. Then again I could be wrong, if they bring file the suit in Tyler, TX then they probably will win.
cranfordio
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Joined: Jan 2004
East Texas
02/01, 08:14am reply
I've lived in East Texas and if a Chinese company sues a U.S. company in Tyler's Federal Court, they won't have a prayer of a chance of winning. There was a Chinese restaurant in Lufkin called The Happy Buddha and the locals forced them to change the name.
cebritt
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Mar 2000
Are they suing over the tablet shape?
02/01, 08:14am reply
A rectangle with rounded corners is patented? Even the bezel on the P88 is wider on one side than the other. Besides running a full version of Windows on a tablet is a major FAIL. Less than two hours of battery time is a joke. You'd have to carry an awful lot of spare batteries to match the iPad's theoretical battery time.
iphonerulez
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 2008
P-P-P88?
02/01, 09:48am reply
Ah, I know these guys. They also manufactured the P-P-PowerBook a few years ago. That was a solid machine.
phillymjs
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jun 2000
Thanks for the laughs!
02/01, 10:15am reply
This seems like an excellent strategy for having Apple's rabid pitbull lawyers turn your company into a smoking hole in the ground. But how will they monetize that? Is this some sort of reality show?
dogzilla
Mac Enthusiast
Joined: Sep 1999
what resemblance?
02/01, 10:27am reply
The resemblance is not very obvious. This other machine is a tablet with rounded corners, a black bezel and some chrome.
But looking at it, it is clearly a different tablet. Had the chinese company come out with this in 2011, I seriously doubt anyone would have called it an iPad clone.
Maybe the problem here, is how aggressively Apple went after so-called clones of the early iMac, as if Apple somehow had a patent on translucent candy colors.
The problem here is the law - it's too vague, and judges - too inconsistent in apply the law.
Jonathan-Tanya
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Oct 2004
This company has no case period!
02/01, 11:10am reply
It's running Winblows, the icons don't look anything like the iPad, it basically doesn't look anything like the iPad. They don't have a case!
And the copy cloners of the world better watch out because Apple could sue back 100 times over for all the copy clone iPhones, and iPods out in China.
b9robot
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Feb 2009
comment title
02/01, 11:16am reply
The problem here is NOT the law (though it is most certainly broken).
The problem is that someone figured that a quick and dirty press release threatening to sue would have the gullible tech industry to "report" it as news and include a link to their website. Very cheap advertising at best. I hope the reporter feels used, you were.
climber
Mac Elite
Joined: Dec 2001
Apple Design Exposed!
02/01, 11:25am reply
All these years I've wondered where Jonny Ive gets all of his inspiration and design genius. Now the secret is out ... DNA testing has revealed he's Shenzhen Great Loong LOST Brother !!!
Foe Hammer
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Feb 2005