Official Statements
Response to U.S. Court of Appeals Decision
10/8/2016
We are surprised by the decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Earlier this year, a panel of the same court found that Samsung had not infringed any valid Apple patent. But today the court reached a different conclusion. Samsung agrees with Judge Dyk’s dissenting opinion that “this case is not a closed one” in view of the “flimsy” evidence supporting the majority’s opinion and “trivial nature” of Apple’s alleged innovations.
The majority’s opinion makes significant changes in patent law, and we share the concerns of all three dissenting judges that the majority’s decision to not only review en banc, but also exclude Samsung or other relevant stakeholders from participating in the process, was extraordinary and virtually unprecedented. We agree with Judge Reyna that the process employed creates the “potential to damage our system of justice.” Samsung is reviewing the Court’s decision and we are looking carefully at the possibility of Supreme Court review. This decision reduces consumer choice through rulings in the courtroom rather competition in the marketplace.