After a court ruled Friday, August 24, that Samsung Electronics Co. "willfully infringed" on a number of Apple's patent devices, granting them $1.05 billion, Samsung looks to appeal the decision, while Apples seeks an injunction of Samsung devices in the U.S. market.
According to CNET News, Samsung is confident that the company will be absolved from paying the $1.05 billion to Apple Inc. The South Korean company released an internal memo to its employees stating "History has shown there has yet to be a company that has won the hearts and minds of consumers and achieved continuous growth, when its primary means to competition has been the outright abuse of patent law, not the pursuit of innovation," as reported by CNET News.
The memo reassuringly said that "We trust that the consumers and the market will side with those who prioritize innovation over litigation, and we will prove this beyond doubt," according the website.
Apple, which after the big victory, is seeking an injunction on the Samsung devices in question in the U.S. market. Apple released a public statement saying,
"The lawsuits between Apple and Samsung were about much more than patents or money," the company said in a statement on Friday. "They were about values. At Apple, we value originality and innovation and pour our lives into making the best products on earth. We make these products to delight our customers, not for our competitors to flagrantly copy," as reported by Don Reisinger for CNET.
After months of anticipation the jury finally reached a verdict in the Apple v. Samsung lawsuit granting Apple Inc. $1 billion for patent infringement. The jury of nine ruled that Samsung Electronics Co. did in fact "rip off" Apple Inc. by copying the company's revolutionary designs for the computer tablet iPad and smartphone iPhone. The jury decided that the South Korean company should pay $1.05 billion to Apple.
On Friday, a jury of nine granted Apple $1.05 billion in its year-long patent infringement suit against Samsung, although Apple's original claim was $2.5 billion, the verdict can definitely been seen as an Apple victory.
The jury ruled against all of Samsung's counter claims amounting up to $400 million.
The two rivals decided not to reach a settlement, despite the urging of the judge. Instead they left it up to the jurors. However, Samsung says that it wanted to resolve matters with Apple instead of going to court, but Apple remained defiant on its claims.
Since 2011, the two tech moguls have engaged in quite a tussle over design infringement, Apple has repeatedly accused Samsung (not without merit) of imitating its designs for its various products. While, one cannot deny Samsung's products bears a definite resemblance to the corresponding Apple products, Apple might have taken the issue a little too far by suing the company for $2.5 Billion. In turn, Samsung is counter suing Apple for approximately $400 million for damages to reputation and $22 million in royalties.
Throughout the trial, Samsung has maintained that it merely drew inspiration from Apple's designs, while Apple insisted that the company blatantly "ripped off" its designs.
Samsung's lawyer Charles Verhoeven said, "Everyone is out there with that basic form factor...There is nothing wrong with looking at what your competitors do and being inspired by them," as reported by Time Magazine.
In turn, Apple released a statement in direct rebuttal to the South Korean company on Reuters, "It's no coincidence that Samsung's latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging."
Apple has always been very sensitive, and rightfully so to a certain extent, to patent infringement. In a biography of Steve Jobs by Walter Issacson quoted the former Apple CEO saying about Google's Android, "Our lawsuit is saying, 'Google you f***ing ripped off the iPhone, wholesale ripped us off. I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong. I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product," as reported by thevarguy.com.
Apple's pursuit against the South Korean company has been quite in the same lines. In 2011, Apple filed suit against the South Korean Tech mogul Samsung over patent issues and intellectual property rights regarding Apple's highly popular smartphone iPhone and computer tablet iPad. Apple claims that Samsung's smartphones and tablets are knock-offs of its designs.
The two companies have been dispute in over 10 countries.
A few months ago, due to Apple's claims that Samsung's Galaxy Tablet infringed on patents of its very popular iPad, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh ordered the Galaxy 10.1 computer tablet to be temporarily removed from the US markets.
Samsung released a statement as follows: "Should Apple continue to make excessive legal claims in other countries based on such generic designs, innovation in the industry could be harmed and consumer choice unduly limited," as reported on Reuters.
The case was filed as: The case is Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., 11- cv-01846, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose).
