苹果官司赢得不值：赔偿金没拿到，三星依旧很滋润

苹果公司(Apple Inc.)终于发现自己所主张的一些事情竟与过去几年来不断努力设法证明的一切背道而驰。那就是──苹果公司的竞争对手三星电子(Samsung Electronics)侵犯其一项主要的专利，而几个国家的法院针对这一相同专利却分别作出了不同的判决结果。 显然地，就算是苹果公司也不确定接下来该怎么面对这些判决结果，而今还被迫得在一份公开声明中证实三星公司未侵犯其专利。 苹果是如何自陷于如今这样一个奇怪的位置的？英国地方法院先前曾以三星产品不够酷的理由判决三星平板未侵犯苹果 iPad 设计，并要求苹果必须公开声明这项判决结果。而今，在英国上诉法院维持原先地方法院“三星公司Galaxy Tab 10.1、Tab 8.9与Tab 7.7未侵犯苹果公司第0000181607-0001号注册专利”的判决后，苹果公司被迫得在其英国公司官网上发布声明，还三星公司一个清白。苹果公司 甚至得提供连结至地方法院与上诉法院的判决结果。“三星所注册的设计专利与 iPad 的设计并不相同，”上诉法院表示。 有趣的是，几个国家的法院针对同一专利分别作出了不同的判决结果。英国判决苹果败诉，并必须公开发布三星无罪的判决结果；德国和美国都判三星侵权，三星必须付给苹果10亿美元的损害赔偿；而在荷兰、韩国以及日本法院中，目前看来则是三星占上风。 如同苹果公司在其声明中指出的，“(英国法院)这项判决的结果影响遍及整个欧盟。”因此，这会儿应该真相大白了，对不对？那可不，因为就在同一份声明中，苹果公司还强调，德国法院在相同的专利上作出有利于苹果的裁决，同时，加州陪审团也判三星得付出10亿美元的赔偿金。苹果进一步指出： “针对这项专利诉讼，德国法院发现三星抄袭 iPad 设计的方式，违反了公平竞争的原则。美国法院也发现三星侵犯苹果的设计与工具专利，必须赔偿苹果超过10亿美元的损失。因此，尽管英国法院未发现三星侵权事证，其它法院都认为三星在开发 Galaxy 平板电脑的过程中，蓄意复制了苹果广受欢迎的 iPad 产品设计。” 至今我还不知该如何解开这个谜团。除了我得撰写有关这一事件发展的文章以及指出整个技术专利环境已经变得多么暗淡以外，我相信很多欧洲国家也必须面对这个两 难──欧盟国家最终得实施这两种相互矛盾的判决结果。德国当地法院的判决结果与英国法院影响遍及整个欧洲的裁决相互抵触，那么德国执法人员究竟该怎么做？ 此外，美国的裁决真的有利于苹果吗？苹果至今仍如履薄冰。在加州法院的判决中，陪审团认为三星侵犯苹果的一项主要专利在经过美国专利与高商标局 (USPTO)重新审查后，如今已暂时宣告无效了。当然，这项判决的结果也可能进一步的重新审查后被推翻。而今，苹果还未收到10亿美元的损害赔偿或甚至 将三星逐出市场。 因此，对于两家公司来说，现在是不是到了双方该一起坐下来认真讨论如何结束这场闹剧的时候了？ 本文授权编译自EBN Online，版权所有，谢绝转载 编译：Susan Hong 参考英文原文：Apple in a Bind as Courts Wrangle Over Patents，by Bolaji Ojo, Editor in Chief

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{pagination} Apple in a Bind as Courts Wrangle Over Patents， Bolaji Ojo There's a direct line between the global economic doldrums and the lackluster results announced by many of the biggest technology companies. The inevitable conclusion reached from reviewing the third-quarter results and fourth-quarter outlooks from companies such as Amazon, Apple, Google, Intel, IBM, Texas Instruments, and STMicroelectronics is that the entire industry is being impacted by slowing demand by consumers, businesses, and government institutions for electronics and IT equipment. Not even Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) has escaped the shellacking. The wonder boy of the consumer electronics world typically beats not just its own forecast, but also the supercharged Street forecast. But on Thursday, the world's biggest consumer electronics company by sales and market capitalization reported results that missed estimates. CEO Tim Cook told investors that rumors about new products especially hurt iPad sales. I disagree. As I have pointed out in the past, Apple isn't immune to what's happening in the general economy. Alex Gauna, an analyst at JMP Securities, told the Los Angeles Times that Apple "missed expectations for the third time in the last year and a half; that's uncharacteristic of Apple and it's something we're going to have to get used to." Events outside the industry's control are impacting electronics companies more today than in the past. The industry is still trying to get used to that or even accept it. Belt tightening by companies, consumers, and governments is hurting sales. Here are a few examples drawn from headlines about the general economy, retailers, OEMs, and component suppliers. · Orders for U.S. Capital Goods Stagnate as Spending Slumps · Best Buy Says Quarterly Profit Will Fall 'Significantly' · Amazon's results fail to meet expectations · Ericsson Profit Drops 43% as Carriers Cut Spending · Fed Says Economy Still Needs Its Help to Grow · US economy likely grew slowly last quarter · Japan approves $5.3 billion stimulus to fend off recession as economy stays mired in deflation · Avnet reports larger-than-expected dip in sales · STMicro Makes Plans to Get Leaner as Chip Demand Is Weak · Texas Instruments Offers Weak Q4 Outlook Some industry observers see the generally weak third-quarter results as an anomaly that should pass soon. I believe they point to a longer trend for manufacturers. The global economy isn't monolithic, and many places will continue to lag others in demand and growth, pressuring sales and impacting decisions about the allocation of resources. My position is that those pressure points are here to stay, at least for the next several years. Europe and the US (the presidential election notwithstanding) will continue to struggle for many more years with economic pressures related to debts, fiscal restructuring, and the growing belief that public spending should be drastically scaled back to reduce borrowing and interest payments on government obligations. In a few months, politicians in China have gone from worrying about an economic overheating to near panic about the possibility of sluggish demand (primarily in foreign markets) crimping employment and wage growth. Many China watchers say the country is hurting as demand for its products declines in Europe, which is battling a crippling fiscal crisis. Taking all these things into consideration, it's obvious electronics manufacturers will find it harder to predict demand in the coming quarters and possibly the coming years. Thankfully, many companies are already taking steps to counter the dragging impact on their operations. They are monitoring demand more closely and have tamped down on inventory, using a just-in-time program that reinforces the need to have only components required for confirmed sales in stock. These actions have boosted margins and sent profits to record heights, despite flagging sales. Many companies are watching their own expenses and have been swift to cut costs in anticipation of slowing demand. They've also instituted a more flexible, smarter, and smaller workforce system; employees can be replenished or downsized swiftly in response to changing market conditions. With the economic crystal ball fogging up at unexpected times, more actions like these will be needed in the coming quarters.