Apple's continued disputes with Samsung reach new levels next week when yet another trial kicks off. But this time, Apple plans to argue its case using a raft of internal Samsung documents that openly admit that the company mimicked the iPhone—and was even warned off doing so by Google.


The documents, to be used by Apple in court, apparently reveal that Samsung deliberately copied some aspects of the iPhone and iPad. They also go on to explain how, in February 2010, Google told Samsung that the Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablets were "too similar" to the iPad.


Apparently Google wasn't the only one flagging up a warning. According to All Things D, "famous designers" warned Samsung that the Galaxy S "looked like it copied the iPhone too much" and that "innovation [was] needed" because it "[c]losely resemble[d] the iPhone shape so as to have no distinguishable elements." The designer apparently went on: "[a]ll you have to do is cover up the Samsung logo and it's difficult to find anything different from the iPhone." Oh dear.

It'll be interesting to see what Samsung can pull out of its bag to tempter these excerpts. All Things D suggests that Samsung has some 2006 internal design presentations describing a UI similar to the one that later turned up on the iPhone, and that the company also intends to point out that Apple's designs themselves mimic Sony's. Hold tight, it's gonna get lively. [All Things D]