Samsung Claims First Tablet Appeared In "2001: A Space Odyssey"

Take that, Apple...?

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If you haven't heard, Samsung and Apple are embroiled in a lengthy, presumably extremely pricey, multi-tiered legal battle over patent infringements. Apple is asserting that Samsung, in creating its Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets, "slavishly copied Apple’s innovative technology, distinctive user interfaces, and elegant and distinctive product and packaging design." Samsung, of course, believes this is all nonsense. To prove so, its lawyers recently presented an interesting, albeit unusual, piece of evidence: Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. 

According to Samsung's legal team, the company didn't copy the iPad's styling—it took its cues from the above scene in Kubrick's classic movie. Particularly from the tablets the two characters, Dr. David Bowman and Dr. Frank Poole, used which had "an overall rectangular shape with a dominant display screen, narrow borders, a predominately flat front surface, a flat back surface (which is evident because the tablets are lying flat on the table’s surface), and a thin form factor."

Does this mean Stanley Kubrick's estate can join the fray with a lawsuit of its own? 

[Foss Patents via Slash Gear]

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