Mobile phone battle: Apple 1, Samsung 0 | Bangkok Post: learning

About technology

Apple wins round #1 in global battle over ownership of mobile phone technology but the fight is not over yet.

Photo above of a Samsung Galaxy series mobile phone held up for comparison with Apple's iPhone (AFP Photo:  Park Ji-Hwan).

Photo below of the Samsung's flagship Galaxy SIII mobile phone that the patent battle might spread to next.

Read a review of the iPhone and Samsung rival models in today's Bangkok Post here.

Read a critique of the patent battle by James Hein in the Bangkok Post here.

Click button to listen to Samsung Apple Case download

Samsung shares plunge after Apple patent ruling

By Nam You-Sun (AFP)

SEOUL — South Korea's Samsung sought Monday to rally employees after a $1.05 billion US court judgment in favour of arch-rival Apple pushed its shares sharply lower amid fears about the fallout in the key American market.

Samsung shares tumbled 7.5 percent, the biggest single-day percentage drop the electronics giant has seen in nearly four years, after a California jury last week said the firm had infringed on half a dozen patents held by Apple.

Shares of other Asian smartphone makers which run Google's Android operating system, the partial target of Apple's lawsuit, were also lower.

Analysts said the fine was not a major issue for Samsung, the world's biggest technology firm, but the jury verdict raised concerns about a possible ban on some US sales when the judge in the case makes her final ruling.

This was expected on September 20 but could be delayed.

The jury in San Jose, California decided Friday that Samsung "wilfully" infringed six Apple patents for smartphones or tablet PCs.

Samsung, in a blog message to staffers, said it was "very disappointed" at the ruling -- part of a legal battle in nine countries between the two technology titans.

But the company, which has announced it would contest the verdict, said it would "continue to do our utmost until our arguments have been accepted."

Samsung said courts in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany and Korea had previously ruled it had not copied Apple's designs. Without naming its US rival, it decried the "outright abuse" of patent law.

We trust that the consumers and the market will side with those who prioritise innovation over litigation, and we will prove this beyond doubt.

Analysts said the judge could later decide to triple the damages because jurors found Samsung acted "wilfully", and order a partial product ban.

If the ruling leads to a US sales ban on the Samsung products subject to dispute, said Hi Investment and Securities analyst Song Myung-Sup, it will start eroding the company's revenue from the fourth quarter.

Some analysts said the key point would be whether the patents battle spreads to Samsung's flagship Galaxy SIII phone.

The products ruled to have infringed Apple's patents are all older models. The jury did not make any recommendation about banning their future sale.

"Samsung's profit is expected to reach 7.5 trillion won during the third quarter. One trillion won (about one billion dollars) is not a problem for Samsung," said James Song of Daewoo Securities.

Song said the share plunge partly reflected fears that the popular Galaxy products would be banned from the US, and concern that the SIII and subsequent models could also be subject to litigation.

However, considering the design changes and other modifications, "it's unlikely that anyone will confuse the Galaxy series with the iPhone from now on."

Despite the strong reaction by stock market investors, Song said most of the models subject to a possible ban were not widely sold any more.

"I'm guessing about five percent or two million gadgets will be banned," he told AFP.

Daishin Securities analyst Jeff Kang said the US verdict would have no immediate impact on the worldwide operations of Samsung, which had an estimated 20 trillion won in cash reserves.

But US operations would be affected.

While the legal battle would continue, "Samsung could also opt to do business after paying royalties or unveil new models to avoid further suits." 

Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2012 AFP. All rights reserved.

(Source: Bangkok Post, Samsung shares plunge after Apple patent ruling, By Nam You-Sun (AFP), link)


Apple vs. Samsung Vocabulary

Samsung Electronics -  "the world's largest mobile phone maker, world's largest television manufacturer and world's second-largest semiconductor chip maker (after Intel Corporation)" (See Wikipedia)

Galaxy series - a series of mobile computing devices (mobile phones, tablets) produced by Samsung Electronics which use the Android operating system (See Wikipedia)
Galaxy SIII phone - Samsung's most important mobile phone model (See Wikipedia)

Apple - the innovative computer company that designed and produced the iPad and iPhone (See Wikipedia)
iPhone - (See Wikipedia)

smartphones - mobile phones that offer advanced features so they become a lot like a computer (See Wikipedia)
Android operating system - the open source operating system for mobile phones created by Google, has become a major competitor with the iPhone as well as being cheaper (See Wikipedia)

plunge - to fall suddenly ลดลงอย่างเร็ว (เช่น ราคา, อุณหภูมิ)
shares plunge - the price of the stock shares (and the value of the company) fell quickly by a large amount

patent - legal rights to use an invention and to prevent the invention from being used by others, details of invention must be revealed to government patent office (See Wikipedia)
patents held by - the patent and invention is owned by ...

ruling - a decision by a court of law คำตัดสิน คำชี้ขาด
patent ruling - a decision by a court about patented technology 

Samsung shares plunge after Apple patent ruling

rally - to join other people in order to support someone or something when they are having problems รวมตัวกันเพื่อสนับสนุน หรือประท้วง a public meeting that a lot of people go to in order to support someone or something to protest against someone or something เดินประท้วง
rally employees - cheering employees up, remotivating them after a bad or sad event

favour - to give an advantage to someone or something, often in an unfair way ช่วยเหลือ
in favour of ... - giving the advantage to ...

court judgement - when a decision is made in a legal case (by jury and judge)
court judgement in favour of

rival - competing; opposing คู่แข่ง a person, group, team or business that competes with another คู่แข่ง
arch-rival - the biggest competitor (a long tradition of competition)

fallout - the negative effects from a bad event or action

key - important คนสำคัญ
the key American market

South Korea's Samsung sought Monday to rally employees after a $1.05 billion US court judgment in favour of arch-rival Apple pushed its shares sharply lower amid fears about the fallout in the key American market.

tumble - fall down
jury - a group of people who have been chosen to listen to all the facts in a trial in a law court and to decide whether a person is guilty or not guilty, or whether a claim has been proved คณะลูกขุน

firm - a business or company บริษัท
infringed on - make use of something that you do not own or have the right to use

Samsung shares tumbled 7.5 percent, the biggest single-day percentage drop the electronics giant has seen in nearly four years, after a California jury last week said the firm had infringed on half a dozen patents held by Apple.

lawsuit - sueing someone; a legal case brought by a company or person who feels they have been damaged by someone  คดีที่อยู่ในระหว่างการฟ้องร้อง

target - a goal; the amount you are planning to achieve เป้าหมาย
target of lawsuit - the person being sued

partial - not complete change; only part บางส่วน
partial target of lawsuit

Shares of other Asian smartphone makers which run Google's Android operating system, the partial target of Apple's lawsuit, were also lower.

fine - an amount of money that you have to pay because you have broken the law ค่าปรับ

issue - a problem that needs to be considered; a subject that people discuss or argue about ประเด็น
a major issue
not a major issue

verdict - a decision by a law court on a legal case
jury - a group of people (usually 12) selected from the general population to judge a court case (listen to the facts and make a legal decision)
jury verdict

concerns - worries ความกังวล
raised concerns about - makes you worry about certain things

ban - an official statement ordering people not to do, sell or use something การห้าม
ban on some US sales

judge in the case makes her final ruling
expected

Analysts said the fine was not a major issue for Samsung, the world's biggest technology firm, but the jury verdict raised concerns about a possible ban on some US sales when the judge in the case makes her final ruling.

expected - believe will happen คาดว่า (จะเกิดขึ้น)

willfully - done on purpose (doing something knowing that you would cause damage and harm)
willfully infringe patent

staffers - people who work for a company or organization

disappointed - unhappy because someone or something was not as good as you hoped or expected, or because something did not happen ผิดหวัง
disappointed at the ruling

technology titans - large technology companies

This was expected on September 20 but could be delayed. The jury in San Jose, California decided Friday that Samsung "wilfully" infringed six Apple patents for smartphones or tablet PCs. Samsung, in a blog message to staffers, said it was "very disappointed" at the ruling -- part of a legal battle in nine countries between the two technology titans.

contest - to disagree with something;  to compete for something ถกเถียง โต้แย้ง คัดค้าน
contest the verdict - say that you disagree with the court decision (and fight the decisionm making an appeal)

utmost - as much as possible
do our utmost - do everything they can (to solve a problem or achieve a goal)

But the company, which has announced it would contest the verdict, said it would "continue to do our utmost until our arguments have been accepted."

rival - someone you compete with (both trying to get some limited prize)

outright - complete and total
abuse - to use or treat someone or something wrongly or badly, especially in a way that is to your own advantage ใช้ในทางที่ผิด
outright abuse - treating someone completely and totally in the wrong way

decry - say publicly that you do not agree with something
decried the outright abuse of patent law

Samsung said courts in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany and Korea had previously ruled it had not copied Apple's designs. Without naming its US rival, it decried the "outright abuse" of patent law.

trust - believing in; have confidence in   ความเชื่อมั่น
we trust that

consumers - people who buy things (individuals and families)

innovation - a new way of doing something นวัตกรรม
litigation - the use of the legal system to settle a disagreement การฟ้องร้อง ดำเนินคดี

prioritise - make most important thing (that must be done first)
prioritise innovation over litigation

doubt - not know for sure if something is true or false, uncertain
prove this beyond a doubt - prove (with 100% certainty)

We trust that the consumers and the market will side with those who prioritise innovation over litigation, and we will prove this beyond doubt.

triple - three times the number or size of something จำนวนสามเท่า
damages - the money a court of law awards to someone for damages done to them
triple the damages - increase the damages to three times the amount (1 million baht increases to 3 million baht)

Analysts said the judge could later decide to triple the damages because jurors found Samsung acted "wilfully", and order a partial product ban.

dispute - a serious disagreement;  an argument over some problem, a conflict ข้อพิพาท การโต้เถียง, ความขัดแย้ง
products subject to dispute

erode - reduce slowly and gradually (like water wearing away the dirt on a mountain)
revenue - income from taxes or business activities รายได้
eroding the company's revenue

fourth quarter - the last four months of the year (in the "fiscal calendar" used for budgeting spending and financial reporting in companies and the government)

If the ruling leads to a US sales ban on the Samsung products subject to dispute, said Hi Investment and Securities analyst Song Myung-Sup, it will start eroding the company's revenue from the fourth quarter.

key - important
key point - an important event or thing

flagship - the most important in a group of things owned by a company (for example: flagship company, flagship publication) ที่เป็นตัวนำ ที่สำคัญที่สุด

Some analysts said the key point would be whether the patents battle spreads to Samsung's flagship Galaxy SIII phone.

models - different designs or types of a product
older models  

subsequent - happening afterwards
subsequent models - models or versions of a product that came out later  

recommendation - a suggestion for how to solve a problem, deal with a situation ข้อเสนอแนะ คำแนะนำ หรือข้อเสนอแนะ

profit - money that you make from selling goods and services after all your costs have been paid กำไร
share plunge - fall in the price of the company's stock shares (in the value of the company) 
reflect - show
share plunge partly reflected fears that

banned - officially not allowed to do something ห้ามอย่างเป็นทางการ ถูกตัดสิทธิ
concern - a worry ความกังวล

litigation - use of the legal system to settle disputes (resolve or end disagreements) 
subject to litigation - when a dispute will lead to a lawsuit to settle it
subsequent models could also be subject to litigation

The products ruled to have infringed Apple's patents are all older models. The jury did not make any recommendation about banning their future sale. "Samsung's profit is expected to reach 7.5 trillion won during the third quarter. One trillion won (about one billion dollars) is not a problem for Samsung," said James Song of Daewoo Securities. Song said the share plunge partly reflected fears that the popular Galaxy products would be banned from the US, and concern that the SIII and subsequent models could also be subject to litigation.

design changes
modifications - changes to something
confuse - make it difficult for someone to know exactly what is happening

reaction - the way something responds as a result of something that happens ปฏิกิริยาตอบโต้
strong reaction by stock market investors

However, considering the design changes and other modifications, "it's unlikely that anyone will confuse the Galaxy series with the iPhone from now on."  Despite the strong reaction by stock market investors, Song said most of the models subject to a possible ban were not widely sold any more.  "I'm guessing about five percent or two million gadgets will be banned," he told AFP.

impact - an effect or influence ผลกระทบ
immediate impact - having an effect now (without delay)
would have no immediate impact

cash - money เงินสด
reserves - money kept for future use when it is needed  เงินสำรอง สงวน
cash reserves

opt - choose; to make a choice or a decision from a range of possibilities เลือก
opt to do business after paying royalties

unveil - to announce something new and unknown  เปิดเผยข้อมูล
unveil new models

Daishin Securities analyst Jeff Kang said the US verdict would have no immediate impact on the worldwide operations of Samsung, which had an estimated 20 trillion won in cash reserves. But US operations would be affected.  While the legal battle would continue, "Samsung could also opt to do business after paying royalties or unveil new models to avoid further suits."

Tell us what you think about this article

Like dislike 2 people liked / 0 people disliked it

Share this article

0

0

• More +

• Republishing permission
• Print this

Bangkok Post online classifieds

Try buying & selling goods and properties 24/7 in our classifieds which has high purchasing power local & expatriate audience from within Thailand and around the world.