Apple asks Samsung for prototype devices

San Jose Judge Lucy Koh is forcing Samsung to hand over new and unreleased mobile devices to its rival, Apple. Apple's lawyers will get a chance to look at these devices as part of its infringement case against Samsung. In this complaint, Apple is accusing Samsung of violating a variety of utility patents, design patents and trade dress registrations for its suite of iOS devices.

The phones and tablets requested by Apple include the Samsung Galaxy S2, Galaxy Tab 8.9, Galaxy Tab 10.1, Infuse 4G and Droid Charge. Apple will be looking closely at the packaging and the TouchWiz UI used by the Korean manufacturer to see how closely it mimics Apple's iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Specifically, Apple is looking for elements that will confuse people into thinking the Samsung devices are the same as the iPhone.

In response to Apple's complaint, Samsung countersued Apple for patent infringement in Korea, Japan and Germany. Both cases are slowly making their way through the legal system in each of these countries.