Since the official launch of the new BlackBerry Z10 on Wednesday there have been a lot of comparisons between it and the iPhone.
Now I will be the first to admit that it does certainly look a bit like an iPhone…actually it looks a lot like an iPhone but it clearly isn’t an iPhone.
I can’t think there would be many, if any, consumers out there who would go shopping for an iPhone 5 and come out with a new BlackBerry Z10 by mistake.
I mean, for one thing, it has the word BlackBerry in huge letters on the front right where Apple has its home button, a button which does not appear on the Z10.
There has already been talk about whether or not Apple might sue BlackBerry over the design.
Now I am no patents expert but surely “your phone looks a bit like our phone” is very shaky grounds for any sort of serious legal challenge.
Normally these things end up being very technical indeed and revolve around which one or more clearly defined patents the other company is alleged to have infringed.
One only has to look at the ongoing legal battles between Apple and rival Samsung to see how complex these legal challenges can be.
The Mail Online asked whether Apple may launch a legal challenge against BlackBerry in an article on Thursday which was headlined:
“Will Apple sue BlackBerry over its ‘iPhone copy’? Firm could take action as Europe boss refuses SIX TIMES to admit Z10 looks just the same.”
Apparently, according to the article, BlackBerry Europe managing director Stephen Bates was asked five times on a recent BBC radio interview whether he agreed that the Z10 looked like the iPhone.
It said that on each occasion he avoided the question. Maybe this is a touchy subject for BlackBerry but I personally have no problem that the two phones look alike.
The Z10 and the iPhone 5 are unique products and with many more differences over and above their superficial physical similarities.
Will Apple sue BlackBerry?
I have no idea but I certainly hope not. At least not unless they can come up with something better than “your phone looks like our phone.”