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This Is What A Billion Dollar Patent Lawsuit Does For You!

Tyler Durden's picture


The much-heralded $1.05 billion patent lawsuit win on August 24th appears to have marked "Peak AAPL-ness" as investors look through the first-round win for Apple to Samsung's potential second- and third-round wins on margins and revenues as a supplier to their rival. As Bloomberg's Chart of the Day notes, since that analyst-exuberance-inspiring date, Samsung is +16.8% (or 23% in USD terms) and Apple is -18.4%.




Charts: Bloomberg


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Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:03 | 3055716 crusty curmudgeon
crusty curmudgeon's picture

That's patently absurd.


Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:07 | 3055734 oak
Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:13 | 3055762 GetZeeGold
GetZeeGold's picture



Been saying it for a while....everything I own is made by Samsung.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:31 | 3055846 Toolshed
Toolshed's picture

Yeah,.......brand loyalty. Brilliant. The only hard drives I have had fail (2 of them) in the last few years were both made by Samsung. I no longer buy Samsung hard drives. I do buy some of their other poducts, but blind loyalty to a brand is not a good idea my friend.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:44 | 3055901 GetZeeGold
GetZeeGold's picture've convinced me to buy more AAPL.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 12:00 | 3055964 kralizec
kralizec's picture


Wed, 12/12/2012 - 13:07 | 3056233 Fukushima Sam
Fukushima Sam's picture

Eat shit and die AAPL, you central-planning motherfuckers!  Your rotten apple is a symbol of what is wrong in the US today!

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 22:06 | 3058116 philipat
philipat's picture

When a Company stops innovating and instead relies on Lawyers the results are inevitable.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 14:40 | 3056666 Freddie
Freddie's picture


I do not like Apple but Samsung HD are junk.  I know people who have high tech Samsung appliances and they do break plus the parts are not easy to get.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 22:13 | 3058118 philipat
philipat's picture

BS. I love my Galaxy S3. It has never given me ANY trouble and is far superior to the i5 in terms of technology.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:42 | 3055897 EL INDIO
EL INDIO's picture

Samsung to Apple:

We make your chips, we make your screens,we even your batteries...



(Not sure if that’s true, just made it up)

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:29 | 3055837 Toolshed
Toolshed's picture

Very good article. Apple blew it in the computer market and they are well on their way to doing the same in the mobile phone market. I just can't wait for them to start selling TV's. Entering the TV market will kill them for sure and then they can, appropriately, use one as their tombstone. Apple TV! Hundreds of channels of crap carefully chosen FOR you, because Apple knows what you want better than you do!!!

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:04 | 3055718 Hayabusa
Hayabusa's picture

I own a Samsung Galaxy S3 and love it.  Apple is trying to take over the world of mobile computing, but suing your primary hardware supplier is stupidity.  Apple is getting what's been coming to them for quite some time now - and they deserve it.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:20 | 3055791 toady
toady's picture

Apple always had a strong techno-nerd following, I have no idea why, they are always at least a little behind technologically.

I think the latest non-undated tech from them really hurt. Samsung is miles ahead now, so apples only recourse is through the courts.

Appleheads will fight to the death, but management better have a trick up its sleave....

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:52 | 3055934 homersimpson
homersimpson's picture

"Apple always had a strong techno-nerd following, I have no idea why." It's because Appleheads have been picked on as long as we can remember and now they think ownership of an overpriced Apple product constitutes coolness..

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 15:40 | 3056922 Freddie
Freddie's picture

These Apple hipsters are usually very morally superior chatting and surfing using devices built with Chinese slave labor. 

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 12:05 | 3055943 Acet
Acet's picture

Nah - their followers are not the techies. Techies go for open systems so that they can thinker with them.

Apple products are about as closed as they get.

Apple is a fashion company. They appeal to the superficial crowd, not nerds.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 12:24 | 3056064 pan-the-ist
pan-the-ist's picture

Agreed - Apple followers are Techno Hippsters.  Techies use systems they can make work for them (Linux, Android, DDWRT, Homebrew, etc))

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 12:55 | 3056192 Ghordius
Ghordius's picture

fully agreed. though I find my apple gizmo relaxing. no thinkering, no worries, no compulsion to "find a way to get it to do..."

apple products have a certain elegant "femaleness" about them. and I'm very curious if their smart tv is really coming

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 21:09 | 3057972 KaylaF
KaylaF's picture

Agreed. Apple is also the only compuer brand I know of that has repair stores littered like so much trash all over the countryside in order to constantly fix their JUNK products and to assist the technoligically ingnorant consumers of the trash they make. When was the last time you saw a liquid cooled APPL i7 Z77 running a 5.4Ghz? Exactly. 90% of all Apple users have no clue what I just said. Loosers.

Apple = art deco computer.


MAC User: "I got a new MACBOOK PRO!"

PC User: "Cool. What was the damage?"

MAC User:"$1700"

PC User: "Ouch"

MAC User: "Yea, but it is top-of-the-line."

PC User: "How much RAM does it have?"

MAC User: "Oh, I don't know."

PC User: "I though you said you wanted to do video editing with Final Cut Pro and After Effects?"

MAC User: "I can, it has "Lightningbolt technology. HA HA. It is like the fastest compueter in the world. Lightningbolt... wow"

PC User: "How is "LightningBolt" going to help you render HD videos and animations?"

MAC User: "It makes it fast"

PC User: "You have no clue what you are talking about. And you have 4GB of RAM BTW. You also have a graphic card that isn't worth a damn. You wont be editing anything with a hardware config that is 3 years old. I have a 3 year old ASUS k53e I don't use, and it has higher specs than this joke and I only paid $680 for it. This MACBOOK PRO is a NEW $1700 paperweight."

MAC User: "I don't like talking to you, your just a MAC hater."

PC User: "Whatever moron. A broke moron at that...... Merry Christmas by the way."

MAC User: "Shut up"






Wed, 12/12/2012 - 12:00 | 3055963 zerozulu
zerozulu's picture

techno-nerd followed Apple because they hated Microsoft. Decisions made on the bases of hate are not wise decisions (in the long run, like arrogance.)

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:23 | 3055810 fajensen
fajensen's picture

I would like Samsung more if they rounded up the developers of that rotten piece of crap "Samsung KIeS" and rendered them down for biodiesel!

Their products are nice, but the support software .... 3'rd worlder-produced GARBAGE. Unfortunately, that applies for the software allegedly able to upgrade the system software in Samsung TV's too. Ericsson did the same back in the day, decent enough product sold with infuriatingly useless support software.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 13:27 | 3056309 localsavage
localsavage's picture

I am new to Kies since I just ditched the iphone and bought a Galaxy S3 but I haven't had issues with it yet.  Being able to add a single file instead of having to sync the whole phone is the shit.  Nothing worse than when my iphone had a temper tantrum and had to sync for 8 hours while it got its shit together.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:41 | 3055894 Lendo
Lendo's picture

I have the S3 and have to agree that it's awesome.  Coming from an iPhone 4 it makes the Apple product look like a babies toy.

Plus, every woman and college-aged kid has an iPhone4, which further bolsters my position of Android for business, Apple for iPods and toys.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:06 | 3055730 j0nx
j0nx's picture

Cook ought to be given his walking papers over this fiasco. He is the Boehner of CEO's. Utterly incompetent.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:26 | 3055825 fajensen
fajensen's picture

I bet he made millions in bonuses and stock options for himself already. Probably got a side business as a silent pardner in some of the legal firms too. The CEO's job these days is all about the extraction of value, not the creation of it.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:07 | 3055733 BurningFuld
BurningFuld's picture

Dear Mr Cook: The MOST valuable thing you own is the name Apple. Please refrain from tarnishing it!!!


Your Shareholders

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:13 | 3055766 Toolshed
Toolshed's picture

Too late.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:10 | 3055749 JPM Hater001
JPM Hater001's picture


Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:12 | 3055754 Joe Davola
Joe Davola's picture

A technology company is doomed once they hire a CEO with a sales background.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 12:15 | 3056020 Uncle Remus
Uncle Remus's picture

Too right.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:12 | 3055757 I need more cowbell
I need more cowbell's picture

The stupidity goes back to Jobs. Why go to a vertically integrated, deep pockets player like Samsung to manufacture your chips, instead of a pure foundry like TSMC or like alternative? Jobs incredibly went full open kimona because Samsung said they needed to fully understand the iphone so as to design the chips correctly.


Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:20 | 3055792 asteroids
asteroids's picture

Jobs, although brilliant at some things got a lot of things wrong. He was an asshole  and suffered from magical thinking. But, he's dead now.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 14:06 | 3056519 Tom Terrific
Tom Terrific's picture

But, he's dead now.



Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:34 | 3055856 fajensen
fajensen's picture

Why? Perhaps because Samsung actually designed the iPhone and Apple branded and marketed it?

Lots of branded consumer electronics products have the same generic Matsushita and Toshiba designs on the inside.  

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:15 | 3055768 Jason T
Jason T's picture

ganum style

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:15 | 3055769 laomei
laomei's picture

Here's a free tip for the business world: Don't sue the company you rely on to make all the critical parts that go into all your products.  All Samsung had to do was jack up the prices to Apple... which they did.  Ah... shortsightedness.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 12:05 | 3055983 zerozulu
zerozulu's picture

So what do you think will happen when US mess with China?

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 17:01 | 3057250 laomei
laomei's picture

Politically it sounds good when you're on the stump making a speech.  In reality..... not so much.  Throwing up tarrifs will destroy the profits of basically every US brand and be met with similar attacks on their international interests.  If profits remain #1 priority, then consumer costs will increase as it's still not viable to manufacture in the US.  Some basic assembly? Sure, maybe, with robots.  Either way, the costs will still go up as a result while wages will not.  This results in a sudden shock to the system where the era of cheap shit is over.  The living standard in the US is falling already, and the only reason it hasn't crashed is because of that cheap shit.  Try buying quality, odds are you can't afford it.  Hell, even China makes some seriously high-quality stuff, the problem is that the importers don't want it because the US public can't afford it.  The US public wants its cheap comforting crap so it can keep that illusion going.


Meanwhile, pop over to China and have a look.  Everyone knows what fake shit is, everyone knows it's cheap and no one has any expectations for it to hold up.  When we want to buy quality, we buy quality and we don't finance it, we just buy it.  We also really love to screw with the heads of US marketers.  China is a very faddy culture when it comes to brands and goods.  The fad dies quickly and moves on to something else.  Then foreign companies see the quarterly results, get all excited and blow endless amounts of money trying to pump life back into a dead fad.  Chinese brands are also getting much better and some of them are realizing some important realities.

Fake shoes (my favorite example):

I have a pair of fake shoes.  I wear them everyday and have worn them for the past 3 years.  They are waterproof and warm in the winter and actually pretty comfy.  They are made with quality material and the only thing that makes them fake is the "Columbia" badge on them.  I bought these fake shoes for $20 and was flat out told they were fake, but good quality when I bought them.  No misrepresentation from the seller.

A friend of mine just got back from the US on business.  He bought a *genuine* pair of Columbia shoes made in Vietnam.  He paid over $100 for these shoes.  After 1 month they began to fall apart.

Now this is starting to be a rather common occurance here.  The fakes are exceeding the quality of the legits.  Smart companies are realizing this and making their own brands.  Now instead of just being a "cheap fake", they are a quality brand at a good price... a price, which oddly enough is higher than what they were getting when they were "fakes".

The brand name was the only thing stopping them from exporting via legit channels previously, but at the time they didn't really care all that much.  Now? Oh there are so many more opportunities.  What you are seeing is the rise of the Chinese brands, and as they rise, they will be buying out your brand names as well for market share and recognition.  

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:20 | 3055789 buzzsaw99
buzzsaw99's picture

i hope thousands of lawsuits are brought against apple and they spend all their cash on lawyers just the way steve jobs wanted

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:20 | 3055790 adr
adr's picture

The lawsuit confirmed that innovation at Apple was dead in the eyes of investors. If they had a brain they would have realized there never was any innovation at Apple. Jobs was all about putting a pretty shell on top of others work and calling it his.

The iPod, iPhone, iPad and every other piece of iGarbage would not have been possible without the work of thousands of people who never worked at Apple, yet saw their work pilfered and patented by one of humanity's worst citizens. I know many people who tried to patent their work only to have the patents denied, then have Apple patent the same exact work and have it rubber stamped by the USPTO.

Now Apple ramps because of more iTV speculation. More horseshit of an overhyped product that will become an overpriced useless piece of junk people will buy and force themselves to "like" it, in order to justify a purchase they never should have made.

Of course as long as Apple aims at the Obama welfare crowd, maybe they deserve the valuation. A bullshit company is perfect for 100 million completely worthless people.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:29 | 3055840 Flakmeister
Flakmeister's picture

Wow, so the target demographic for high priced electronics are the "Obama welfare crowd"...  Are you really that stupid to believe that?

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:37 | 3055872 Uncle Remus
Uncle Remus's picture

Maybe he meant the Wall Street and MIC welfare crowd.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 12:13 | 3056010 Flakmeister
Flakmeister's picture

Somehow I seriously doubt that...

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 12:23 | 3056056 Uncle Remus
Uncle Remus's picture

Well, if the $2K Bemers or Berlutis fit...

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:40 | 3055884 fajensen
fajensen's picture

"Obama welfare crowd" - who could that possibly be: The DHS would qualify, as would most of Wall Street, the medical insurance industry, the War on Drugz and Terror -complex. Thats a pretty cash-rich markit already!

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 12:12 | 3056004 Flakmeister
Flakmeister's picture

Sounds like a big overlap with the "Bush Welfare Crowd".....

Maybe it would be better to just call it the "Corporate Welfare Crowd" i.e. the Fascists....

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 12:32 | 3056097 blunderdog
blunderdog's picture

The DHS is a Bush-baby, though.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 12:03 | 3055977 Acet
Acet's picture

iTV suffers from the small problem that people can't run around displaying it to strangers on the street.

The whole Apple thing was about fashion, and a heavy piece of immovable furniture doesn't have the same appeal to the fashion consciencious as something they can "wear".

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 15:24 | 3056853 Tom Terrific
Tom Terrific's picture

On Target

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 15:51 | 3056965 Freddie
Freddie's picture


yeah good luck in the TV business.  I went into a Best Buy (never shop there) around Christmas three years ago.  They had endless HD TVs from China and Mexico that they could not give away.

Al Gore is on Apple's board along with Doerr and other crypto-liberal-govt-$$$-capital-facists. The same scum who brought you Fisker, the Volt, Solyndra and the other electric car that catches on fire.  All supported with taxpayer money.

F Apple, Microsoft and Bill Gates buddy the Oracle from Omaha.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:24 | 3055816 realtick
realtick's picture

Glad to see you're back to using Helvetica

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:26 | 3055818 Mercury
Mercury's picture

Technology tends to soldier on whether you're in court or not.

Netscape once declared victory in their lawsuit against Microsoft too. Remember them?

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:26 | 3055826 Jumbotron
Jumbotron's picture

Patent lawsuits have nothing to do with the rise of Samsung's stock nor Apple's fall.  It's simply overshoot on both ends.  Plus you are looking at the trees and not seeing the whole forest.  Apple will continue to be a hyper focused, low SKU selling company pushing the boundaries of design and function and although margin compression is more an issue now....will just about always have less of an issue with this, simply because they are demonstrably better for most people.


That said..,... in 10-20 years...Samsung will suffer the fate of most large, multinational, electronics companies with their fingers in so many pies and 1000's of SKU's in hundreds of departments.....they get too big, bloated and full of themselves such as the RCA of old in America.....and Sony of Japan....and Panasonic....and Sharp....and Hitachi.....etc...etc.  Korea will become what Japan is now as low margin chasing, low wage arbitrage masters of the universe continue to move west....(west of Asia) into the hinterlands of Eurasia and Africa for a quick buck.....and higher profit margins on even more slave wages to people who a slave wage is more than they are getting now.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:27 | 3055828 Flakmeister
Flakmeister's picture

Buy the rumor, sell the lawsuit...

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:35 | 3055859 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

Un-correlation does not mean there is causation.

<Wait........I mean.......forget it.>

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:37 | 3055870 BrettFavre
BrettFavre's picture

thanks for this article ! really enjoyed reading it...

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 11:52 | 3055936 zerozulu
zerozulu's picture

Hard work and honesty is the universal truth and a reality. Always pays at the end.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 17:53 | 3057442 foofoojin
foofoojin's picture

Did you throw up a little when you wrote that? I threw up a little reading it.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 12:09 | 3055996 jimijon
jimijon's picture

This is now a time of convergence.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 12:17 | 3056021 virgilcaine
virgilcaine's picture

Apple is now Sony circa 1990.  Long decline ahead. Ipod =  Walkman.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 12:18 | 3056034 LouRukeyser
LouRukeyser's picture

The USPTO is on its way to invalidating the "Steve Jobs" patent in reexamination.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 17:38 | 3057399 foofoojin
foofoojin's picture

don't forget the jury foreman that is on public record saying he purposefully ignored judge instruction because he "knew" the patent system, gave statements to the jury that neither samsung or apple made ,convinced the jury to SKIP discovery questions because "it was a waste of time", and finally, had previous litigation with samsung through a subsidiary company.

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 13:41 | 3056391 dirtbagger
dirtbagger's picture

The problem with all large electronic companies is that when the manufacture products with buggy software or defective components they will neve admit that a problem exists.  On top of that, they will continue to produce the defective items until they have reached their internal ROI.  None of these companines care about how this affects their customers.

Samsung is notorious for this.  Case in point - our Samsung 46" LCD was having problems turning on and off.  Googled the problem and there were pages of search results and about 20 videos addressing the issue.   Turns out they put some cheap capacitors in the board that eventually overheat and go bad.     Samsung refused to admit there was a problem and continued to use the same cheap parts in the TV's for years just to save a few bucks.   Don't even get me started on issues I had with the RIM Blackberry. 

If we had anything resembling a free and competitive market these companies would all end up like RIM.   Be prepared to have 2-3 cell phone makers in the future who all have a take it or leave it attitude. 

Wed, 12/12/2012 - 15:57 | 3056991 Freddie
Freddie's picture

These fancy Korean appliances (Samsung, LGS) have a reputation for problems.  Yuppies showing off fancy washers, dryers and refrigs.  The stuff looks nice until it breaks. 

I have generally had good luck with Whirlpools white/stainless steel appliances.  They are not real fancy but they are reliable.
