Star designers are being pitted against tech titans in the latest episode of Apple’s legal battle with Samsung. More than 100 design leaders, including Lord Norman Foster, Sir Paul Smith, Sir Terence Conran, Calvin Klein and Dieter Rams, have joined Apple’s side as the long-running patent case is considered by the US Supreme Court.
The move sets many of the most famous names in industrial design, fashion and architecture against some of the biggest tech companies in the world, including Google and Facebook, who have lined up behind Samsung in the case.
Samsung’s appeal to the Supreme Court hinges on what portion of a copied product’s profits can be awarded in damages to a patent holder. It is the first time in decades that the top US court in the US has considered an issue relating to design patents.