As you may know, the Apple vs. Samsung case reached its conclusion last week, and as a result Samsung has to pay Apple $1.05 billion in damages.
And in case you’re wondering how the two companies feel about it, here go the internal memos sent to the respectful companies’ employees. Google also threw in its two cents on the matter.
The Apple note is sent by Tim Cook himself and says that Apple pursued the protection of its values, rather than going for money or patents. He is pleased that the jury found Samsung’s copying “willful”.
Today was an important day for Apple and for innovators everywhere.
Many of you have been closely following the trial against Samsung in San Jose for the past few weeks. We chose legal action very reluctantly and only after repeatedly asking Samsung to stop copying our work. For us this lawsuit has always been about something much more important than patents or money. It’s about values. We value originality and innovation and pour our lives into making the best products on earth. And we do this to delight our customers, not for competitors to flagrantly copy.
We owe a debt of gratitude to the jury who invested their time in listening to our story. We were thrilled to finally have the opportunity to tell it. The mountain of evidence presented during the trial showed that Samsung’s copying went far deeper than we knew.
The jury has now spoken. We applaud them for finding Samsung’s behavior willful and for sending a loud and clear message that stealing isn’t right.
I am very proud of the work that each of you do.
Today, values have won and I hope the whole world listens.
Tim
Samsung, on the other hand, points that courts in the UK, Netherlands, Germany and Korea had ruled the opposite of what the NDCA had. The company even goes on to state that Apple won’t win the hearts and minds of consumers by abusing patent law, instead of innovating – although I can see Apple fans accusing Samsung of just such a lack of innovation. It’s a matter of personal perspective, I guess.
[Internal Memo] Regarding the Jury Verdict in California
On Friday, August 24, 2012, the jury verdict in our trial against Apple was announced at the US District Court for the Northern District of California. The following is an internal memo that reflects Samsung’s position regarding the verdict:
We initially proposed to negotiate with Apple instead of going to court, as they had been one of our most important customers. However, Apple pressed on with a lawsuit, and we have had little choice but to counter-sue, so that we can protect our company.
Certainly, we are very disappointed by the verdict at the US District Court for the Northern District of California (NDCA), and it is regrettable that the verdict has caused concern amongst our employees, as well as our loyal customers.
However, the judge’s final ruling remains, along with a number of other procedures. We will continue to do our utmost until our arguments have been accepted.
The NDCA verdict starkly contrasts decisions made by courts in a number of other countries, such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, and Korea, which have previously ruled that we did not copy Apple’s designs. These courts also recognized our arguments concerning our standards patents.
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.
We trust that the consumers and the market will side with those who prioritize innovation over litigation, and we will prove this beyond doubt.
Google also shared its thoughts after the trial. The search giant wanted to make it clear that the ruling doesn’t relate to the core Android OS.
The court of appeals will review both infringement and the validity of the patent claims,
Most of these don’t relate to the core Android operating system, and several are being re-examined by the US Patent Office.
The mobile industry is moving fast and all players – including newcomers – are building upon ideas that have been around for decades. We work with our partners to give consumers innovative and affordable products, and we don’t want anything to limit that.
We guess there are many sides to every story.
Source | Via
