A breakdown of the statement Samsung issued following its devastating loss against Apple:
Today’s verdict should not be viewed as a win for Apple, but as a loss for the American consumer. It will lead to fewer choices, less innovation, and potentially higher prices.
Coming from Samsung, that line is rich. Samsung has tried to extort Apple on standards-essential patents for some time now. Had Samsung prevailed on its counterclaims, that would have actually led to price increases.
It is unfortunate that patent law can be manipulated to give one company a monopoly over rectangles with rounded corners, or technology that is being improved every day by Samsung and other companies.
As a jury in the US and judges around the world have decided, Apple isn’t trying to patent the rectangle. Samsung’s copying was so far beyond what any rational person could describe and a natural design evolution, as the company claimed. Windows Phone is a perfect example of innovating without copying.
Consumers have the right to choices, and they know what they are buying when they purchase Samsung products. This is not the final word in this case or in battles being waged in courts and tribunals around the world, some of which have already rejected many of Apple’s claims. Samsung will continue to innovate and offer choices for the consumer.
Samsung’s blatant copying of Apple continues, with everything from S-Voice’s similarity to Siri and lookalike stores blurring the choice for consumers that aren’t tech-savvy. This statement is very much an echo of what Samsung argued during the court trial, arguments that didn’t carry any weight with the jury. The next batch of phones Samsung releases will come under so much scrutiny Samsung will have no choice but to change them significantly.
