There are a lot of court cases and yes one of them involves visual looks.
"How can Apple trademark what an iPhone or iPad looks like?
This is better known as "ornamental design." But, indeed, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office grants intellectual-property rights to designs. Just like we know obscenity when we see it, jurors will be tasked with deciding whether Samsung's products -- largely the Galaxy phone series and early versions of the Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Tab 10.1 -- visually rip off Apple's designs."
- http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/27/tech/mobile/apple-samsung-patent-trial/index.html
"How can Apple trademark what an iPhone or iPad looks like?
This is better known as "ornamental design." But, indeed, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office grants intellectual-property rights to designs. Just like we know obscenity when we see it, jurors will be tasked with deciding whether Samsung's products -- largely the Galaxy phone series and early versions of the Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Tab 10.1 -- visually rip off Apple's designs."
- http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/27/tech/mobile/apple-samsung-patent-trial/index.html
That's not what any of the patents, or any of the current court cases are about....
