Noh Review on "Samsung vs. Apple" - August 27, 2012

1. Bloomberg Businessweek "Apple Gets $1 Billion From Samsung—Nothing Changes" by Paul Barrett

Overview: This article is about the patent trials between Samsung and Apple. The author briefly discusses what went down in the court and the implications of Apple's win.

Key Info:

• Result of the first of many patent trials in the U.S: Samsung must pay Apple $1.05 billion for infringing 6 of the 7 patents for Apple mobile devices
• But, it is too early for Apple to celebrate. Samsung will appeal the San Jose verdict soon, and there are other continents and areas for these many patent lawsuits.
• For Apple, this is not just a battle against Samsung. It is Apple's shout out to the other rivals, such as Motorola and HTC.

Article: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-08-24/apple-gets-1-billion-from-samsung-dot-and-nothing-changes

2. Harvard Business Review "Who Cares If Samsung Copied Apple?" by James Allworth

Overview: This article provides an interesting view on the argument that Samsung copied Apple. The author discusses how the fierce competition and all the copying have fuelled Apple to continuously come up with innovative products.

Key Lessons:

• Author's View: Before asking whether Samsung copied Apple or not, it is important for us to determine how it would affect consumers and other companies in the future.
• Apple's argument "If our competitor copies us, it is impossible for us to keep innovating" is flawed. Regardless of what they claimed during the lawsuit against Microsoft, Apple continued to unveil the iMac, OS X, iPod, iPhone and iPad. Rather, the fierce competition accelerated Apple's innovation. The logic is that the competition fueled Apple's awareness for R&D and their speed in innovation. 
• According to The Knockoff Economy: How Imitation Sparks Innovation, innovation stops without protection from copying. Great innovations often build on existing ones - and that requires the freedom to copy.
• Regardless of the outcome of this court case in the U.S., there will be no material change in Apple's innovation or pricing. Even with Samsung's win, it will not result in slower development of Apple's products.
• There are already so many lawsuits going around in the world, which suggest that everyone is already copying each other. Instead of having lawsuits as their defence, the most ideal solution would be for the leading companies to innovate at such a rate that their competition can't copy them fast enough. This would be a win-win for both consumers and and the innovators.
• In my opinion, this isn't always a feasible option, especially for smaller companies with less funding on R&D. However with what Apple has, Apple can't complain about this solution.

Article: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/08/who_cares_if_samsung_copied_ap.html