Apple vs. Samsung – Korea equalises.

Finally, Samsung’s council has pulled its finger out, producing a result worthy of its reputation.

• It has all been downhill for Apple since its decisive win over Samsung in August and this latest ruling plumbs new lows.  
• Following the hearing on December 6^th, injunctive relief has been denied to Apple on the infringing Samsung products, representing a major setback for Apple.
• Apple will, of course, appeal the ruling which to me looks very unsafe.
• In a nutshell the injunction has been denied because Apple has failed to show that the harm to its business was caused by Samsung’s infringement as opposed to normal competitive practices.
• This is a big setback for Apple, and to be frank anyone seeking injunctive relief for patent infringement, as harm from one specific feature is almost impossible to prove.
• The appeal process will take around a year by which time any injunction will be moot as the Galaxy SII and Samsung Galaxy Note are very unlikely to be still available.
• However, the appeal is important because it will have a bearing on future injunction hearings, but Apple’s chances of getting Samsung products excluded from the US have taken a huge blow.
• Even more relevant is what this means for the next patent infringement trial which is due to begin in March 2013.
• Here, Apple is asserting patents against the Samsung Galaxy SIII and Samsung Galaxy Note II which are Samsung’s current big earners.
• It has been my opinion for some time that Apple would file for, and obtain pre-trial injunctions against these devices largely on the basis of the finding of infringement in August.
• This ruling puts a real dampener on this idea because the same reasoning will apply.
• At the trial, Apple did not categorically show that it was the infringement that caused the harm to its business and hence I would now expect any application for a pre-trial injunction to be denied.
• The principle upon which the ruling has been based is being questioned by Apple, but for now it looks like any attempts to keep Samsung products from the US market will be rebuffed.
• This is the only negative catalyst that I had seen on the horizon for Samsung which now looks to be very unlikely to occur.
• Hence, 2013 looks like it will be a good year for Samsung.
• If Windows 8 shows some sign of life then Samsung is in a great position to benefit both with its fledging PC business and its DRAM business.
• The smartphone outlook is also bright as Samsung will have access to screen technology that will allow it to differentiate in what is becoming a highly commoditised market where very few players make any money.
• Samsung is one of my top picks for 2013 and is inexpensive on 10.7x 2012 PER and 8.8x 2013.