Apple may be effectively trying to cater to the pre-orders which are being placed for the iPhone 5, but will the legal issues surrounding the company deter their enthusiasm? What’s more is, Samsung seems to be making the most of the situation at hand. Though they do essentially manufacture some components of Apple’s products, the company seems to be portraying themselves as underdogs in the ongoing conflicts, slowly making their way successfully through the smartphone market.
Ever since Apple has introduced the iPhone 5, Samsung has belted out a series of ad campaigns that compare their Galaxy S3 to the iPhone 5, claiming that their device is in fact the ‘next big thing’. They have been calling Apple fans ‘iSheep’, while using their marketing prowess against Apple. These ad campaigns seem to be Samsung’s tool in trying to paint Apple in the bad light and themselves, as victims, all along trying to congregate users who are anti-Apple. Besides, Samsung was also supposedly considering filing a lawsuit against Apple for the abuse of patents related to the 4G LTE technologies, patents it claimed were supposed to be available to all companies interested in utilizing the technology.
Only recently did Apple win a billion dollars in compensation in a lawsuit against Samsung, wherein it was stated that the latter company had infringed upon Apple’s design of the iPhone and some utility patents concerning other products. Apple’s Tim Cook stated that taking the matter to the court was their last resort as they had been repeatedly asking Samsung to refrain from imitating the designs of their products, laying stress on the importance of ethics over patents. The court seems to agree on the fact that Samsung has breached patents owned by Apple. Samsung still has a chance to appeal against the judgment that went against them though.
Though one may wonder why Samsung isn’t cooperating to Apple’s attempts at making peace with them, it is important to remember that to an extent these antics are helping the Korean firm gain visibility. Samsung may have been successful in developing their business and selling important components to their competitors simultaneously, but only time will tell if the iPhone 5, going by the current sales, will be able to replace the Galaxy S3 as the leading device in the smartphone market.
