Apple goes for the kill: Wants court to ban all Samsung Android phones in U.S.

In a request to the U.S. District Federal Court, Apple has done what most observers have known all along; Apple wants to eliminate Samsung as a competitor in the mobile phone market.

Greed or protection?
In a legal document submitted to the U.S. District Court in San Jose California on September 21, Apple clearly states that the reason for its request to stop all sales of Samsung Android handsets in the United States is to terminate Samsung as a competitor for mobile phones in this country.

An excerpt of Apple’s legal paper states:

“[Evidence] shows that Samsung is now Apple’s largest smartphone competitor worldwide and is rapidly becoming Apple’s largest competitor in the U.S. market.

“The direct competition extends particularly to consumers who ‘are looking to make first-time smartphone purchases,’ who both account for a major portion of new Apple and Samsung customers and are a highly coveted group.

“These first-time smartphone purchasers are likely to develop brand and platform loyalty that will affect future sales and market share for years to come (id.), which makes the harm to Apple from loss of follow-on and downstream sales particularly severe.”

In other words, because of Samsung copying the iPhone product designs, Apple has lost a good deal of the lucrative first-time customers to its South Korean rival.

But it is the first time that Apple has so clearly stated its real agenda: Get rid of Samsung products in the United States, and around the world.

Less choice for users
Samsung sees this, obviously, as a tactic of Apple to corner the smartphone market by litigation. The South Korean company has stated many times that Apple’s incessant use of bending the law to squelch competition, instead of letting the consumer choose, is a tactic that will eventually doom Apple.

Although Apple recently won a $1.05 billion settlement against Samsung for design and patent infringement from a federal court, it is now requesting an additional $707 million in damages to be added to the original amount.

Similar lawsuits filed by Apple around the world against Samsung have failed.

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