It was 2011, and just a few years into the smartphone wars, Apple sued Samsung for allegedly infringing its design patents. While this was not the first major patent battle in tech, the case is remarkable for one particular design patent owned by Apple: a rectangular cuboid with rounded corners.
Essentially, Apple claimed that Samsung violated its patents by producing a smartphone in the shape that everyone is now familiar with. It seemed almost hilarious at the time that Apple could patent something as essential as the rectangle.
Seven years…
