“British manufacturer Dyson is suing Samsung over claims that the South Korean firm ‘ripped off’ one of its inventions,” Leo Kelion reports for BBC News.
“The dispute centres over the launch of the Motion Sync vacuum cleaner which the South Korean firm showed off at the Ifa tech show in Berlin last week,” Kelion reports. “Dyson alleges that the machine infringes its patent on a steering mechanism for cylinder cleaners.”
Kelion reports, “‘This looks like a cynical rip-off,’ said Sir James Dyson, the firm’s founder. ‘Samsung has many patent lawyers so I find it hard not to believe that this is a deliberate or utterly reckless infringement of our patent. We have been forced to issue proceedings in the English High Court, but I would much rather invest in research to develop new technology than have to sue.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: IP theft and patent infringement are endemic at slavish copier Samsung.
You know why Samsung makes vacuums? They wanted to have at least one product that doesn’t suck.
Welcome to the “Ripped Off By Samsung” (ROBS) Club, Dyson!
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Fred Mertz,” “Tacitus,” and “Luke” for the heads up.]
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MDN…. it is fscking something to do with apple or mac? stop it.
It relates to Apple in that it shows they are chronic IP thieves (as in, they ripped off the iPhone GUI).
Correct! Samsung rips off everyone shamelessly.
Oh edward, you are such a samdung troll.
Thanks MDN for showing how it is a TRAIT of Samdung to SLAVISHLY copy everyone and everything.
Dell was Apple’s enemy. So we hated them with vengeance until they became irrelevant
Then it was M$’s turn (again) and we have almost finished them off.
Now it is Google’s and Samscum’s turn. You know what the results will be. It won’t happen overnight but we’ll get them in the end.
Therefore anything negative about those guys is fair game.
Apple is about creating and not negativity. This site often misses the mark when it could show the creativity and beauty of Apple. We don’t really have to put down others to achieve success. We can point out when they are harming Apple by being unethical.
There hasn’t been alot of creativity and beauty coming out of Apple lately. There has been alot of just be patient and wait. 9 months worth. Maybe after today there will be some creativity and beauty to brag about but even then, exposing SameDung and their tactics, methods, and patterns of abuse are definitely fair game.
For the record, I’m OK with the wait. I don’t want to get a half baked not redy for prime time POS that rushed to the store shelves just to kiss the ugly butt of wall street, tech pundits, and marketers.
edward, kindly get back under your bridge where you belong.
Good luck suing in UK. Dyson will probably have to apologize for their comments and go to bed hungry!
Once a copy cat is always a copy cat.
“You know why Samsung makes vacuums? They wanted to have at least one product that doesn’t suck.”
Am I particularly obtuse today, or does this not make sense? Vacuums do suck (air). Is MDN saying that their vacuums don’t work and that’s why they have 1 product that doesn’t suck (even though it’s supposed to)?
Or was it supposed to read:
“They wanted to have 1 product that is SUPPOSED to suck”
Don’t quite get it…
@macman, Samsung’s vacuums wouldn’t work properly, hence they wouldn’t suck…
Maybe their take is since most Samsung product do not work properly, this vacuum would indeed “not suck”.
It sucks that it doesn’t suck 😉
It’s a take on the old joke about Microsoft (or any other target known for generally “sucky” products). It goes something like, “The day Microsoft makes a product that doesn’t suck is the day they make vacuum cleaners.”
“The day Microsoft makes something that doesn’t suck is probably the day they start making vacuum cleaners.” — Ernst Jan Plugge
=:~)
Joke isn’t funny if you have to explain it… *sigh*
Agreed, macman. Didn’t make sense to me either for exactly the same reasons you noted.
Holy crap Spark, you and macman much be a barrel of fun at parties, eh?
And by the way, you guys are forgetting the “e”…
It’s spelt samedung 😉
/h/i
(that tag is in there for the humor and/or irony challenged. For the record; I know that’s not the way you spell samsung, it’s just funny because samesung rips off other companies designs and then make a somewhat “less than”, derivative copies)
Woosh!
The joke actually works either way. In the end, Samsung sucks.
Sam Scum.
love it
It’s not just Samsung – sometimes it seems to be endemic to Korea. Look at Hyundai/Kia who have copied designs by Mercedes, BMW, Honda and others over the years. It reduces their costs by limiting what they need to spend on design and they can offer products at lower cost.
Korea; why stop there? Ever been shopping in China?
China has a real problem with ripping off other people’s designs, too. Worse, they pass the rip-offs as the real thing in many cases, which is truly unconscionable.
But, for the most part the Chinese rip-offs stay within the borders of China (so far). It’s not like they are showing up at major retail outlets around the world (though you may find some on the shelves at the Dollar Store).
It’s still not right and China should take action against it and they have in a few high profile cases, but they are unlikely to do anything large scale in the near future – it’s a pervasive problem that provides them some benefits.
@JohnJ –
Those patent-infringing, rip-off products ARE imported into the US on a vast scale, and would be far more prevalent if not for laws that attempt to intercept it. Your comments make it seem as though Chinese scam artists limit their sales to home markets (and Dollar Stores).
Since Chinese laws are incomplete/unenforced, it is no surprise that American companies can’t find justice there. Chinese people can’t find justice there, either.
Samsung: “to steal” in Korean
This excerpt from the original article was quite eye opening:
“[Dyson] said the system took three years to develop and has since been used in two of its models.
Samsung’s marketing materials for its new vacuum cleaner specifically highlight the “revolutionary” design of its swivel body machine saying it “makes swift motion for sudden turns much easier”.
This is not the first time the two firms have clashed in the UK courts.
In February 2009 a judge ordered Samsung to pay Dyson about £600,000 after it tried to patent the British firm’s existing “triple-cyclone” suction technology.”
Samsung seems to be a frequent abuser of IP, and in more than one market. This kind of blatant disregard for the innovative work of others is exactly what kills competition. Where are the DOJ’s blood hounds now?
One can only hope that every company ever ripped off by Samsung files suit.
Maybe a tsunami of lawsuits will open the worlds eyes.
The problem as I see it is, Samsung will probably make a lot of money even if it loses the suit. Jail time in cases like this, and Wall Street, would solve problems with each.
I wonder who Samsung will pay off to astroturf Dyson’s comment boards now. I don’t think Hoover enthusiasts are quite as vehement as fandroids.
Go Dyson! Love my Dyson. And once again, those who innovate get ripped off by Samedung.
Waiting for Samedung to make a Subaru ripoff and steal from all 3 things I can’t live without.
I hate it that this sounds so racist, but I believe it to be true: to be Asian is to have no business ethics, no respect for original ideas. Life only is about winning and survival.
And to think I once had respect for Eastern Philosoophy. Now I know it is based on situational ethics of convenience.
The statement is racist and broadly false. The lack of business ethics has nothing to do with being Korean or Asian, it seems likely a business decision for Samsung. LG, also South Korean, doesn’t seem to be ripping off their competitors (please point out if I’m missing anything).
HD boy is mostly right.
The lack of business ethics and creativity has a lot to do with the culture in Korea and many asian countries. Koreans born, raised and educated in the US generally don’t act and behave like their counterparts born, raised and educated Korea.
Korean business culture is basically based on lying, cheating and stealing. Thats how most of the Chaebols (conglomerates) around today got to be as powerful as they are. It is standard practice for Korean business to keep 3 different accounting books. One for public record, one for only within the company, one for only the CEO and they all fudge the numbers in different ways. Samsung’s behavior is neither a surprise nor a fluke.
A lot of LG smart phones phones just look like Samsung phones. LG does make a copy of the iMac desktop. LG is not at the forefront of anything and isn’t really bring anything new to the table. They have generally good stuff but thats about it.
IF one were to look at Korean music industry, Korean movie industry, Korean car industry, Korean tech industry and even the Korean government and education system one can finds tons of examples of this.
Korean education and Korean culture (in Korea) generally forces people and businesses to behave this way. This is not anything new this has been happening since Korea gained independence and began its high speed economic rise. Most people are only starting to notice now is because Korean products are becoming more widely noticed and available internationally. Where also before this behavior was mostly domestic.
Korea is a country where how you look and the names of the schools on your resume mean much more than ability. When hiring new employees. Even family history and blood type can be more important than ability. That should tell you a lot about Korean culture and business culture.
Even the Korean government acknowledges Korean students and employees lack creativity critical think skills etc. Last month i started the supposed “Korean Steve Jobs” campaign the article was posted on MDN.
I could give many more examples but this post is already too long.
I don’t hate that it SOUNDS racist. I hate that it IS racist.
You’re obviously just generalizing from a few cherry-picked anecdotes and zero direct and relevant experience.
The Samsung vacuum even looks almost exactly like the Dyson. It’s Deja Vu all over again.
Although the Galaxy S4 is a better phone than the iPhone – which is why the iPhone is playing “catch up” at the event today. Oh, and Japanese automobile manufacturers “copied” US cars a while back. And they made better cars.
I have now crushed all of you weenies with my mental brawn.
Good Day, Ladies,
Jeeves
And, with all your “mental brawn” you can’t figure out how to spell your name.
He probably meant “mental brown” anyway. You know, brown, the color of sh**.
Dear “ElfLord” Mr. Magic-The-Gathering and “Fantasy” Enthusiast:
I suggest you go out and “upgrade” your iPhone 5 to the iPhone 5C. You know – the same phone with effeminate colors… I think it would suit you well.
And as for “Ron”, below. No – I meant mental “brawn” – the characteristic that isn’t demonstrated by the weakest and most unoriginal of insults that you sadly unleash. Time to ask your mommy for extra money in your allowance this week!
No company is safe from the Samescum photocopiers.
That company is unbelievable!
You wait when Apple releases it’s iwatch!
Shitscum will be there with the photocopiers warmed up.
Mark my words, within 3 weeks they will have a blatant copy on high street shelves!
You seen the crap they have just released ‘the galaxy gear’ – that is a prime example of the quality of their design skills without anything to copy from. They use a form factor that was used on digital watches in the 1980s – hey, I even remember owning a digital watch that looked exactly like the galaxy gear in those days.
If ever there was a need to nuke a place it would be Samescum’s offices and factories.
Samsung – They really are a pitiful bunch aren’t they? There’s a Darwinian ethic in business that is rarely talked about, but I have watched it come true over and over again: What goes around comes around.
In the medium term Samsung is going to pay dearly for this thing that they do, and they’re going to pay for it in the market place – people will slowly but surely stop buying their stuff because Samsung won’t be able to sustain their proximity to the technological edge on their own.
When they stop cheating the real competitors will come back.
So Samsung made something that was ‘designed’ to suck? Who knew?
You know why Samsung makes vacuums?
Because they want to suck all the ideas from their competitors.
Samsung makes vacuums?
Do you want to buy your next smartphone from a vacuum cleaner salesman?
Proof positive that Samdung truely sucks.