About the Incident
Question:
Discuss about the Supreme Court Sides With Samsung In Apple Patent Damages Dispute
Ethical dilemma refers to a situation where a preference is generally needed between two options where none of the options is found to be effective enough to mitigate the problem that is related with the situation (Widdershoven, Metselaar & Molewijk, 2016).
The paper reflects on the scenario “Supreme Court sides with Samsung in Apple patent damages dispute” in order to analyze the ethical problems with the help of four ethical theories that include virtue, deontology, utilitarianism, as well as contract.
About the incident
The paper focuses on the scenario “Supreme Court sides with Samsung in Apple patent damages dispute” for analyzing it from the various perspectives of ethical theories (Balakrishnan, 2017). It is analyzed that Apple filed a case against Samsung in Supreme Court of U.S for copying some its designs of iPhone. It is identified that Samsung was charged by Apple in 2011, as the organization have copied some unique features from the iPhone including the feature of colorful grid of app icons. Samsung paid $399 as the case was also ruled by the lower court and they found Samsung guilty of infringing different designs of Apple. The amount that is paid by Samsung to Apple was generally the amount the organization earned from 11 different models of smart phones (Peters, 2015). The penalty that was charged against Samsung was according to some federal laws, which helps in stating that if a party copies or utilizes some patent design of some other party then they are liable to the entire profit that they have made.
However, Samsung stated that the money that was charged is not appropriate. According to the South Korean giant, Samsung must not charged to pay the entire money that they have made from 11 different smart phones but they must be charged to pay the amount which is generally achieved by infringing the design of Apple (Balakrishnan, 2017). The fact was mainly discussed by the CNBC, which states that Apple must continue to protect their designs.
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism theory states that if the theory is helpful in maximizing the utilization of actions then actions are considered best (Peters, 2015). According to the ethical theory of utilitarianism, it is identified that Samsung was charged by Apple for copying various unique features from the iPhone including feature of colorful grid of app icons. Apple not only charges Samsung but also file a case against the organization and as a result, Samsung have to pay an amount $399 million as a penalty, which the organizations have achieved from 11 models of smart phone.
t is analyzed that the action, which is undertaken by the lower count, is quite significant as it generally helps in increasing the utilization of various actions of Samsung. The penalty, that Samsung was charged, helps in sighting the negative impact of infringement (Sritharan et al., 2015). The action, which is taken by the court, helps in restricting the procedure of copying designs. Samsung will not copy any feature of other party due to the penalty that they have to pay. It is considered as a significant lesson for the companies that copies design as well as features from other companies. The scenario helps in suggesting that copying is one of the significant crime therefore it should be avoided as much as possible.
Utilitarianism
Deontology
Deontology theory assists in elaborating the importance of morality in context to various actions that are entirely based on some of the important rules (Jefferson, 2015). The ethical theory for deontology analyzes that from the viewpoint of Apple the actions that is undertaken by the court against Samsung is legal. This is because as per the view of Apple, Samsung copied designs as well as important features from the iPhone of Apple, which is considered illegal, and therefore they are charged to pay an amount of $399 million as a penalty that they have gained from 11 different model of Samsung.
On the other hand, from the perspective of Samsung, the amount that was charged by the lower court is not proper. This is because the penalties that they have paid include the entire money that they have gained from 11 different smart phone models. According to south Korean giant, Samsung must be charged to pay an amount that they have achieved by infringing the design of the apple, not the entire money which they have achieve from 11 different models of their Smartphone (Winters, 2015). Therefore, from the perspective o Samsung, the action of the court was illegal. However, as per the federal laws if any party is accused of copying then the organization will be liable to pay the entire amount that they have gained.
Virtue
Virtue ethical theory assists in highlighting the nature of a person as one of the important key elements for ethical thinking as it is not dependent on rules (Martinez & Wueste, 2016). As per the theory of virtue, it is identified that various types of action, which is undertaken by the court, is found as one of the key element for ethical thinking. According to the court, infringement is crime and therefore Samsung was penalized ro pay an amount of $399 million as they have copied some unique features of Apple. The decision that is undertaken by the court helps in stating that the actions of Samsung are considered to be ethical issue and therefore such type of actions must be avoided (Lee, 2015). Samsung was generally penalized as per the federal laws. The action of the court is found to be ethical as it is generally taken resolving various types of issue that is related with infringement.
Contract
The theory of contract helps in addressing different questions about legitimacy as well as originality of the society (Mazzeo, Hillel & Zyontz, 2013). According to the ethical theory of contract, Samsung was penalized as Apple filed a case against Samsung that states that the organization infringes some of the unique designs as well as feature from the iPhone of the Apple, which is a crime. Due to this, the lower court charges Samsung to pay an amount $399 million, which the company has gained from 11 different models of Smartphone (Brean, 2013). It is analyzed that Samsung was penalized by the court as per the federal laws. It is analyzed that the case was generally sent for further proceedings in the lower court. Now, various types of questions are raised before the Court, which include how the court calculated the entire amount, which Samsung gained due to copying various designs as well as features of Apple.
Recommendations
The recommendations are as follows:
Strict rules as well as policies: The government should implement proper and effective rules as well as regulations in order to reduce the issue of infringement.
Security as well as privacy: Proper security as well as privacy must be maintained in order to avoid the problem that rises due to infringement.
Proper training as well as development: Employees of apple must adopt some programs that do not allow others to copy their features.
Conclusion
It can be concluded from the entire assignment that Samsung was penalized by the lower court due to copying important features as well as designs from iPhone of Apple. It is identified that the actions that is undertaken by Samsung is unethical which raises number of issues. However, the penalty that was charged by the court is considered ethical as it helps in reducing the problem of infringement. The assignment also provides some recommendations for lowering the issues of infringement.
References
Balakrishnan, A. (2017). Supreme Court sides with Samsung in Apple patent damages dispute. CNBC. Retrieved 5 January 2017, from https://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/06/supreme-court-rules-for-samsung-in-apple-patent-case.html
Brean, D. H. (2013). Asserting Patents to Combat Infringement via 3D Printing: It’s No’Use’. Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal, 23(3).
Jefferson, A. (2015). Torbjörn Tannsjö: Taking Life: Three Theories on the Ethics of Killing. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, 1-2.
Lee, H. K. (2015). Between fan culture and copyright infringement: manga scanlation. Lee, H.–K.(2009) Between fan culture and copyright infringement: manga scanlation. Media, Culture & Society, 36(6), 1011-1022
Martinez, N., & Wueste, D. (2016). Balancing theory and practicality: engaging non-ethicists in ethical decision making related to radiological protection. Journal of Radiological Protection, 36(4), 832.
Mazzeo, M. J., Hillel, J., & Zyontz, S. (2013). Explaining the “unpredictable”: An empirical analysis of US patent infringement awards. International Review of Law and Economics, 35, 58-72 Lucas, K., Wee, B., & Maat, K. (2016). A method to evaluate equitable accessibility: combining ethical theories and accessibility-based approaches. Transportation, 43(3), 473-49
Peters, R. S. (2015). Psychology and Ethical Development (Routledge Revivals): A Collection of Articles on Psychological Theories, Ethical Development and Human Understanding. Routledge.
Sritharan, K., Wee, V. M. E., Chin, R. M. Y., & Jong, E. E. M. (2015). A case study: the knowledge and awareness levels of copyright infringement among learners utilising digital technologies in Sunway College Johor Bah
Widdershoven, G., Metselaar, S., & Molewijk, B. (2016). Ethical Theory as Part of Clinical Ethics Support Practice. The American Journal of Bioethics, 16(9), 34-36.
Winters, K. (2015). Good faith belief of patent invalidity not a valid defence to induced infringement. Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, jpv131.
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