Apple and Sony Square Off Over First iPhone as Next iPhone Looms

It’s becoming much more difficult for Apple to maintain any element of surprise with its new products, although the brand's new "Genius" commercials running during NBC's Olympics coverage in the U.S. have been drawing attention — although not as much as the speculation around the new iPhone reveal as soon as Sept. 12th, with video and images leaking all over the web.

Until then, Apple fans are enjoying the spectator sport that is Apple and Samsung squaring off in a patent dispute that kicks off in court today and has been making public key design prototypes and secrets they'd rather not reveal. Now the pair's IP spat has dragged Sony into the fray.

In order to plead its side in the federal court getting underway in San Francisco today, Samsung had "charged Apple with copying Sony smartphone and Walkman designs with its iPhone," according to CNET. Apple, however, has fought back with iPhone concept images from 2005 called "Purple," while the Sony design in question came out in 2006, according to Apple.

"Apple requests that the Court enforce Judge Grewal's Order by excluding evidence that Apple's designs were derived from Sony's design language, from Mr. Nishibori's exercise in applying Sony-style design details to the iPhone, or from Sony handsets of the time," Apple attorney Michael A. Jacobs writes in the motion, CNET reports. "Because this evidence is not admissible to prove the invalidity of Apple's patents, it should not come in for any purpose."

While Apple’s lawyers continue to battle Samsung around the globe, the company is also preparing to release the next version of the iPhone in September, Techcrunch reports. It appears that the phone will have "a longer iPhone housing" with a two-tone finish and "a new speaker grill down at the bottom" — and a new way to get Apple fans spending more.