Samsung may agree with Apple and its stance on data privacy, but that doesn’t mean it’ll publicly support its archrival.
In an emailed statement to Bloomberg, Samsung called protecting its customers’ privacy “extremely important,” adding that it has safeguards in place that stop law enforcement from obtaining user data. It stopped short, however, of publicly referring to Apple’s case with the FBI and saying that it would actually support the company in its ongoing court case over encryption.
“We have not decided whether to file an amicus brief in the current case,” Samsung told Bloomberg in a statement, referring to a filing that a third party could provide to the court in support of the defendant.
Samsung’s statement of support for customer privacy, but not overt support for Apple, is illustrative of the companies’ contentious relationship. Apple and Samsung have for the last several years gone toe-to-toe in patent disputes around the world. The companies argue that the other violates patents they own and have sought damage and injunctions against allegedly infringing devices. So far, Apple has come out on top, though its initial $1 billion damages victory in 2012 has since been whittled down to $548 million. Samsung plans to take its case to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that Apple’s patents are invalid.
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Meanwhile, in a separate case in the U.S. (the companies in 2014 called a truce in international legal disputes), Samsung successfully overturned an earlier ruling that would have cost the company $120 million. In a ruling last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that Samsung will not be required to pay the sum over alleged patent infringement. The court said that Apple, which has charged Samsung with “slavishly” copying its products, holds patents that are invalid and thus cannot be used in litigation against Samsung.
While the court battles have continued, Apple and Samsung have been waging war over which company would ultimately become the world’s top smartphone maker. For now, Samsung is the leader, shipping nearly 325 million smartphones worldwide last year, according to research firm IDC. However, Apple, which sells fewer models, is hot on its heels with 231.5 million smartphone units, growing its shipments by 20.2% year-over-year. Samsung could only muster 2.1% growth. That minimal growth caused Samsung’s worldwide market share to slip from 24.4% in 2014 to 22.7% in 2015, and for the company to again say it needs to adapt its strategy to head off any competition from Apple or China-based Huawei.