Samsung has released the details of an internal memo sent to employees after Friday’s massive legal defeat at the hands of Apple. The Korean company says that it believes that it is more dedicated to innovation than its U.S. rival, which it says is focused on competing in the courtroom.
The memo aims a barb at Apple, claiming that the company’s “primary means to competition has been the outright abuse of patent law, not the pursuit of innovation.” Samsung says that it never meant to take Apple to court but it had “little choice” to counter-sue after Apple filed an initial suit.
Both companies have been criticized by observers for using lawsuits to attempt to block the sales of each others devices. But, Samsung says that it is Apple who is truly guilty of taking this approach. It says it is confident that consumers will see Samsung as the company that “prioritize[s] innovation over litigation” and it says that it will “prove this beyond doubt”.
Samsung says it is “regrettable” that the case has “caused concern amongst our employees, as well as our loyal customers.” That concern is certainly logical, as the company’s stock is down 7 percent following morning trading in Korea.
The 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.
