Injunction or no Injunction? #6

Once again, I'm going to turn your attention to Apple and Samsung; but this time focusing on Apple's challenge of Judge Lucy Koh's decision to allow Samsung to continue selling products that were found to infringe some of Apple's patents. Last class we learned about injunctions, and how if a product were found to infringe a patent, the court could order the violator to stop the shipment, manufacturing, and sale of that particular product. Judge Koh's decision in this particular instance is interesting given that Apple believes that the court did not go far enough. Apple claims that Samsung "deliberately copied" their iphone and ipad products and are simply getting away with it. Overall this is an ongoing debate that becons the questions of how far is too far? Is paying $1 billion in damages enough? What about an injunction? Does that go too far? Although motivations for resorting to patent litigation are often multipronged, it is clear that in this instance, Apple feels incredibly threatened by Samsung's Galaxy and tablet devices, enough to want the court to forcefully stop its production. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/apple-samsung-judge-says-she-may-put-second-patent-case-on-hold/2013/02/15/7bc0f8b2-7730-11e2-b102-948929030e64_story.html?wpisrc=nl_tech

Patent War: Friend or Foe? #5

With Apple unable to support claims that their sales have been "seriously damaged" by Samsung imitating and releasing its products, the Smartphone war has reached a recent stalemate. Although the media has recently portrayed these two companies as rivals, there are many claims that reveal these two "opponents" share some similar interests by partnering up in some respects. Apple's operations Chief explained that Samsung is a great partner to Apple on the supply side, proven by the $8 billion worth of parts Apple bought from Samsung just last year. (This relationship dates back to 2005 where Samsung provided the initial memory chips that allowed the ipod to be manufactured) On the other side of the relationship, Samsung has immensely benefited from insights Apple has provided them regarding smartphone and tablet production. Now, as their legal scuffles have slowed down, it seems as though they even share common enemies that are threatening their collective market share: Blackberry and Microsoft. This is also contrasted by the fact that industry rivalries have changed in nature over the past decade. In the past, companies sued with the intention of effectively killing their opponents. Nowadays, the competitive landscape between companies like Apple and Samsung are multilayered and complex. Yes, there are many instances of litigation that costs billions of dollars, but on the whole, their relationship is both friendly and harsh. Apple and Samsung sometimes have scuffles, but they also pose a dynamic threat to the market where pairing up against competitors like Nokia, Blackberry, Sony, HTC, and even Google, can help them both in the long run.

Overall, Apple and Samsung have different market strategies and ways of appealing to the market. While it may seem like an all out war is what these companies desire, a second look at the situation reveals that quiet cooperation could be a better strategy for the both of them.

http://news.msn.com/science-technology/stalemate-between-apple-samsung-in-smartphone-wars