Did Apple steal the design for the iPhone from Sony? Samsung says so.

With all of the design patent wars taking place right now, it’s difficult to keep track and make sense of everything. Well, it’s going to get a lot more difficult now.

According to AllThingsD, Samsung is making claims that Apple borrowed design elements from Sony for the iPhone.

Eeeek. That’s a pretty big claim, but does Samsung have the proof to back it up? Here’s the photo they are holding up to be the proof

The gist of the argument from Samsung is that when presented with this design, Steve Jobs at the design team at Apple decided to change whatever current direction they were on and implement similar aesthetics into the upcoming iPhone.

AllThingsD though, has a few things to say in regards to this; mainly that the arguments laid out in the case by Samsung are broad and leave a little too much room for interpretation. Ultimately though, what’s Samsung’s end game here? Not so much that they want to accuse Apple of stealing designs as to undercut Apple’s argument that Samsung has been stealing from the design of various Apple products over the years. It’s basically a “look, they’re doing it too” kind of argument.

If you’re curious for more details, head on over to AllThingsD and read about the statements found in the case and see for yourself if you think these arguments will hold up. It should be an interesting battle.