The patent infringement lawsuit between Samsung and Apple has gone on for as long as anybody can be bothered to remember. Most recently, Samsung was ordered to pay $548 million USD, their total profits from Galaxy devices that were deemed to have infringed on Apple patents. However, an interesting twist has been thrown into the mix: a number of Silicon Valley companies have backed Samsung in a “friend of the court” briefing which involved the likes of Facebook, Google, eBay, HP and Dell. Their argument is that enforcing that Samsung pay Apple, the court would essentially be “stifling innovation”.
“If allowed to stand, that decision will lead to absurd results and have a devastating impact on companies, including [the briefing draftees], who spend billions of dollars annually on research and development for complex technologies and their components.”
There’s a lot of truth in that statement, as it could have been anyone instead of Samsung – Samsung just happens to be the biggest target. But of course, Apple sees differently – Apple wants the briefing dismissed, arguing that since Google is part of the movement, it can’t possibly be impartial as a “friend of the court”.
You can kind of see where each side of the argument is coming from, but ultimately this is a matter for the courts to decide – even so, what are your thoughts about who is right? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
