Gallery
| BIG LOSER | rnSAMSUNG rn APPLE BITES BACKrn | rn
The Onion’s Sept. 4 headline said it all: “Nation tired of having to skim past headlines about Apple, Samsung lawsuit.” But bad news, this story’s just starting to heat up. In August, a U.S. District Court jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple $1 billion after it found the South Korean tech giant guilty of infringing on patents related to the iPhone and iPad. While this was initially a financial and public-relations nightmare, things aren’t as dark as they seem for Samsung. The company still has room for appeal in the U.S., and even if it does end up paying the fine, $1 billion is less than 2% of Samsung’s annual revenue. It’s worth noting that Apple’s suits against Samsung in other countries haven’t been entirely successful, meeting with dismissals in Japan, Australia and—surprise—South Korea. The U.S. decision didn’t ban Samsung from selling any devices, though Apple will try to change that at its next hearing in late September. What’s more, Samsung’s Galaxy S III outsold the iPhone in August (though analysts expect the iPhone 5 will change that), and the company is riding a popular upswing after wowing trade show attendees with its new Galaxy Note 2 and Windows 8 phones. But perhaps most ironic, Samsung may have ripped off Apple again in September when it acknowledged labour abuse in its Chinese factories. Up to speed? Feel free to continue headline skimming.
rn—by Conan Tobias
rnSamsung
| BIG LOSER | SAMSUNG APPLE BITES BACK |
The Onion’s Sept. 4 headline said it all: “Nation tired of having to skim past headlines about Apple, Samsung lawsuit.” But bad news, this story’s just starting to heat up. In August, a U.S. District Court jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple $1 billion after it found the South Korean tech giant guilty of infringing on patents related to the iPhone and iPad. While this was initially a financial and public-relations nightmare, things aren’t as dark as they seem for Samsung. The company still has room for appeal in the U.S., and even if it does end up paying the fine, $1 billion is less than 2% of Samsung’s annual revenue. It’s worth noting that Apple’s suits against Samsung in other countries haven’t been entirely successful, meeting with dismissals in Japan, Australia and—surprise—South Korea. The U.S. decision didn’t ban Samsung from selling any devices, though Apple will try to change that at its next hearing in late September. What’s more, Samsung’s Galaxy S III outsold the iPhone in August (though analysts expect the iPhone 5 will change that), and the company is riding a popular upswing after wowing trade show attendees with its new Galaxy Note 2 and Windows 8 phones. But perhaps most ironic, Samsung may have ripped off Apple again in September when it acknowledged labour abuse in its Chinese factories. Up to speed? Feel free to continue headline skimming.
—by Conan Tobias
