Samsung: Apple is a Patent Abuser, Not an Innovator

Samsung released an internal memo to its employees on Monday, following its massive courtroom loss to Apple last week, then shared the memo on the company’s blog site. In a nutshell, Samsung said Apple is competing by abusing patent law instead of innovating.

Samsung responds to Apple patent win with public internal memoSamsung responds to Apple patent win with public internal memo

In spite of the jury’s finding that Samsung has been copying the iPhone and iPad designs with its smartphones and tablets, the company characterized Apple as a company that prefers patent litigation over innovating.

Samsung’s memo reads:

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.

Apple CEO Tim Cook issued his own memo where he stated, “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.”

The jury found that Apple didn’t infringe on any of Samsung’s patents with its iPhone and iPad, but that Samsung consistently infringed on Apple’s patents with its mobile devices — and did so willingly. As part of its findings, the jury awarded Apple over US$1 billion in damages.

Samsung has already promised to appeal the ruling.