Samsung execs deny copying Apple design, attribute smartphone success to marketing

Posted:
in General Discussion edited April 2014
Continuing to grind through its long list of expert witnesses on Monday, Samsung brought up two company executives, as well as three Google engineers, to further its case of non-infringement of five Apple patents.

Samsung Amethyst 2010 iPhone copy doc


According to multiple in-court reports, Samsung opened up week three of the second Apple v. Samsung patent trial by forwarded its argument that the Korean company's massive success in the smartphone industry owes to strong marketing, not alleged copying of Apple's patented iPhone features.

Executive Youngmi Kim, a senior UI designer who has worked on Samsung's user experience team since 2004 vehemently denied the notion that her company's software borrowed from Apple's designs, reports Re/code.

When asked if Samsung stole "slide-to-unlock" from Apple, Kim said, "Absolutely not. If we were to work on the same thing as Apple, that would not give us any advantage in terms of differentiating our products, so that would not make any sense."

Kim was also questioned about internal papers -- referred to by some as "copy cat" documents -- comparing Samsung's phone unlocking mechanism with Apple's. According to the designer, the documents from 2010 are irrelevant as Samsung's implementation was fixed by 2009.

Samsung Behold 2010 iPhone copy doc


In addition to patent talk, much of Monday's proceedings revolved around a strategy to prove marketing, not allegedly aped features, pushed Samsung to the top of the smartphone charts, reports The New York Times.

According to testimony from Samsung America's chief marketing officer Todd Pendleton, the company had a major branding problem when it came to smartphones. Pendleton said that when he joined Samsung in 2011, he did not know the company even had a smartphone lineup.

"I think people knew Samsung for televisions," Pendleton said. "But in terms of smartphones, there was no recognition for what our product was or what it stood for."

He went on to claim Samsung's smartphone offerings were better than Apple's at the time, despite owning a fourth-place marketshare behind HTC and BlackBerry. Marketing, said Pendleton, was one of the main sales drivers that ultimately netted Samsung a huge share of the industry.



Most notable among the various campaigns was the introduction of "The Next Big Thing" blitz that parodied the iPhone's marketing strategy. These ads were the topic of an email conversation between Apple SVP of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller and the company's go-to ad agency TBWA/Media Arts Lab. Both agreed Samsung's campaign was cause for concern.

Pendleton also revealed that a tactic used by Samsung marketing was the disruption of major iPhone launches. During cross examination, Apple counsel presented an email from former Samsung executive Dale Sohn, who wrote, "Beating Apple is no longer merely an objective. It is our survival strategy."

"There will be a tsunami when iPhone 5 is coming," Sohn said, adding that Samsung needed a response to offset Apple's momentum. Pendleton admitted that his company had a plan in place to disrupt the new iPhone's launch. The exact scheme was not detailed, though the company did run a series of print and TV ads at the time mocking both Apple's handset and customers.

Finally, Samsung called up Google engineers to testify that certain features seen in its phones, like data syncing, are core functions of the Android operating system. This is the second time the case's defense attorneys called on Google to prove certain features alleged to infringe on Apple patents were created by the Mountain View, Calif. tech giant. The move is, in effect, using Google as a shield to Apple's claims.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 50
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    And yet Apple is the one that [I]certain[/I] people claim is only successful because of marketing. :\
  • Reply 2 of 50
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    What an empty, filthy, dishonest, and despicable company devoid of any real value, meaning or ethics.
  • Reply 3 of 50
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member

    <img class=" src="http://forums-files.appleinsider.com/images/smilies//lol.gif" /> SAMSUNG IS JUST A MARKETING COMPANY! <img class=" src="http://forums-files.appleinsider.com/images/smilies//lol.gif" />

     

    They’ve admitted it themselves! No one supporting them has any argument whatsoever.  

  • Reply 4 of 50
    nchianchia Posts: 124member
    Surely Samsung wouldn't put up one of its own execs that didn't vehemently deny copying the iPhone!
  • Reply 5 of 50
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member

    Isn't it perjury to lie on the stand?

     

    Do those Samsung people have to swear on a bible? If not, what do they swear on? 

     

    And some of those Samsung employees sound really clueless.

     

    The Samsung America chief marketing officer didn't even know that Samsung made smartphones when he joined in 2011? :no: It sure sounds like Samsung hires really well qualified people who know their stuff.

     

    And then he goes on to claim that Samsung made better phones than Apple? <img class=" src="http://forums-files.appleinsider.com/images/smilies//lol.gif" /> 

     

    Yeah, he sounds like a real authority on phones.:err: 

     

    It's fairly obvious that Samsung ripped off a whole lot from Apple, and if there's any justice to be had, then they should pay up big time.  

     

    I want to see them lose to the tune of billions of dollars. I want Fandroids to be openly weeping out in the streets. 

  • Reply 6 of 50
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    apple ][ wrote: »
    Isn't it perjury to lie on the stand?

    It's perjury to be caught lying on the stand. Also remember that Samsung isn't taking the stand, but rather is the defense.
  • Reply 7 of 50
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    It's perjury to be caught lying on the stand. Also remember that Samsung isn't taking the stand, but rather is the defense.

    You make a good point. If somebody is lying, and there's no way to prove that they are, then I guess that the chances of them getting caught are slim.

     

    As for taking the stand, I thought that that was what it was called when somebody was testifying, when they're sitting in that little box to the side of the Judge. I might very well be mistaken, as I've never even been in a courtroom, and I don't watch any courtroom dramas on TV.

  • Reply 8 of 50
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    apple ][ wrote: »
    You make a good point. If somebody is lying, and there's no way to prove that they are, then I guess that the chances of them getting caught are slim.

    As for taking the stand, I thought that that was what it was called when somebody was testifying, when they're sitting in that little box to the side of the Judge. I might very well be mistaken, as I've never even been in a courtroom, and I don't watch any courtroom dramas on TV.

    Yes, but a corporation can't take the stand. Apple can call Samsung employees and Samsung can call Apple employees who, if caught lying would suffer personal consequences and might harm the respective case for Samsung and Apple but neither Samsung nor Apple can take the stand.
  • Reply 9 of 50
    bregaladbregalad Posts: 816member

    Samsung most certainly does owe their success to marketing. They spend more money in that area than all their competitors put together.

     

    Having said that there is no question that Samsung would not be where they are today had they applied that enormous marketing budget to BlackBerry knock-offs running the Symbian-like OS that Android had been prior to the introduction of the iPhone. 

  • Reply 10 of 50
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post



    Yes, but a corporation can't take the stand. Apple can call Samsung employees and Samsung can call Apple employees who, if caught lying would suffer personal consequences and might the respective case for Samsung and Apple but neither Samsung nor Apple can take the stand. I think it's kind of messed up that were suppose to think of corporations as people and money as free speech but at the same time corporations can't actually go to jail for crimes they commit. The accountability is lacking which is why this is happening in the first place.

     

    I see what you mean.

  • Reply 11 of 50
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member

    As for Samsung's marketing, I guess that consists of hiring dumb celebrities to send out tweets about how great Samsung is from their iPhones and running tv spots where they insult Apple users.

     

    The people who fall for that aren't that bright.

  • Reply 12 of 50
    jkichlinejkichline Posts: 1,369member
    If by marketing you meaning bribing the unsuspecting public into using your devices by giving them away in ludicrous POGO offers and then poorly fabricating "cool" by paying celebrities to tweet about your product using those iPhones... Sure?

    Sounds like that "popular" girl I knew in high school who used "marketing" to get the boys to "love" her...
  • Reply 13 of 50

    Patently Apple is running a story about how the S5 is not doing too well in Samsung's home market.

     

    http://tinyurl.com/S5-Dud-In-Korea

     

     

    Speaking about marketing, when the S III was marketed with the tagline 'The next big thing is already here', I always read it as 'Well, Apple will release the new iPhone, which is the best smartphone ever, in a few months. In the meantime, the next big thing, our S III, is already here if you want it.'

  • Reply 14 of 50
    apple ][ wrote: »
    Isn't it perjury to lie on the stand?

    Do those Samsung people have to swear on a bible? If not, what do they swear on? 

    And some of those Samsung employees sound really clueless.

    The Samsung America chief marketing officer didn't even know that Samsung made smartphones when he joined in 2011? :no:  It sure sounds like Samsung hires really well qualified people who know their stuff.

    And then he goes on to claim that Samsung made better phones than Apple? :lol:  

    Yeah, he sounds like a real authority on phones.:err:  

    It's fairly obvious that Samsung ripped off a whole lot from Apple, and if there's any justice to be had, then they should pay up big time.  

    I want to see them lose to the tune of billions of dollars. I want Fandroids to be openly weeping out in the streets. 
    They always do this, and then there quilty! They are ridiculas, I'm hearing an ad right now about the S5 it's marketing is always done big for a bad phone. I mean they don't understand they put octacore in the S4 and people barely use dual tetracores or even dual core, there just struggling so much and Apple is so chill about it like Samsung is a little child and Apple is that Yoda, so haha little studious.
  • Reply 15 of 50
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,192member

    The Next Big Turd Is Already Here

  • Reply 16 of 50
    appexappex Posts: 687member

    Summary (parody, but good summary):

    Samsung Calls BS On Apple's Charges Of Copying - CONAN on TBS

  • Reply 17 of 50
    robmrobm Posts: 1,068member
    Samsung does not understand what marketing means.
    Apple is the best example of a company applying the principles of Marketing on the planet bar none.

    Why do people think marketing is some kind of voodoo combo of advertising and sales ? Oh wait - ignorance .

    As far as their witness testimony is concerned - what utter drivel.
    I hope they get ignored or proven to be unreliable - either way basically, lying through their teeth.
  • Reply 18 of 50

    It is so incredibly annoying, time after time, year after year to see employees (so-called leaders and regular employees) lie for their company to keep their jobs. What seems so over-the-top is that when this is a "culture" thing it doesn't matter if they get caught, nor proven to be falsifiers and outright liars, all that matters is how it affects their aims: to dominate, sell the most and if it takes illogical lies, it still doesn't matter. The truth never matters to Samsung.

     

    Aren't we sure that even if Apple tries to play fair they know in their legal processes they are going to have to be held to a higher standard than Samsung? At one time Japan was looked at as totally untrustworthy after the War (WWII). Now we do a lot of honest business with them (maybe Toyota has been the exception). China was impossible in their lying, and still is when they DENY attacking our defense agencies (via internet). Why not just admit it--what would we do about it?

     

    The Malaysian people don't trust their own government because of the C370 fiasco.

     

    But when it comes to baldfaced lying, no one can top these South Koreans, especially their industries, and especially their tech industries... but Samsung is unbelievably and absolutely at the top, making everyone else in their business (even the Americans working for them) appear to not even approximately fathom the value of ethics and trust. Our own clandestine agencies can't hold a candle to Samsung. There is NO regard to perjury. Nothing matters except to steal and lie to get what they want. They have been doing this for so many years they view it as "what we do must be right!"

     

    When caught they still deny. When they finally admit to something rotten, they will use that admission as a new tactic to show a new face and declare that patents don't mean very much and therefore the penalties to theft should not be big! Their lack of logic is beyond all understanding except to mock the rest of the civilized world.

     

    No Samsung phone, no refrigerators, no TVs... nothing...I will never buy another Samsung product, knowingly, of ANY kind made by Samsung. I started with Wal-Mart and have stuck to that. Samsung, you are next. Actually you have been so for quite a while. 

  • Reply 19 of 50
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    According to multiple in-court reports, Samsung opened up week three of the second <em>Apple v. Samsung</em> patent trial by forwarded its argument that the Korean company's massive success in the smartphone industry owes to strong marketing, not alleged copying of Apple's patented iPhone features.

    So they admit their smartphones don't sell on their own merits. Gotcha.
    When asked if Samsung stole "slide-to-unlock" from Apple, Kim said, "Absolutely not. If we were to work on the same thing as Apple, that would not give us any advantage in terms of differentiating our products, so that would not make any sense."

    After Samsung, he could run for office.
    Pendleton said that when he joined Samsung in 2011, he did not know the company even had a smartphone lineup.

    Wow. Samsung hires people who don't even go through their new employers' product line? I like to find out as much as I can when getting a new job. No, before that; I want to know everything there is to know in order to decide whether I want to apply or not. Double fail here, I say.
    "I think people knew Samsung for televisions," Pendleton said. "But in terms of smartphones, there was no recognition for what our product was or what it stood for."

    If that were true then why did people buy their smartphones? Don't tell me it's because people like the UI on their TV sets!
    Apple counsel presented an email from former Samsung executive Dale Sohn, who wrote, "Beating Apple is no longer merely an objective. It is our survival strategy."

    Wow! And not even relevant; SE would be doing fine without being in the smartphone business in the first place. Samsung Group is in a different ballpark altogether, with their $300B revenue.
    Finally, Samsung called up Google engineers to testify that certain features seen in its phones, like data syncing, are core functions of the Android operating system. This is the <a href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/04/11/samsung-calls-on-android-exec-in-patent-trial-to-prove-certain-features-were-created-by-google-not-apple">second time</a> the case's defense attorneys called on Google to prove certain features alleged to infringe on Apple patents were created by the Mountain View, Calif. tech giant. The move is, in effect, using Google as a shield to Apple's claims.

    Now that is just childish!
  • Reply 20 of 50
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    So, "marketing" is how the Galaxy S looked like an exact clone or the 3GS? Marketing is how Samsung's phones suddenly went from looking like blackberries, to iPhones in a year? Gotcha.

    Also, isn't it somewhat pathetic to state that the success of your company is based on marketing, and not the quality of the products you're selling? Samsung can't even keep their stories straight, lying through their teeth results in so many inconsistencies in testimony.
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