Tim Cook issues memo to employees saying Friday’s court ruling sends ‘a loud and clear message’

Tim Cook issued a memo to all Apple employees on Friday following the conclusion of a patent trial in the US in which the jury ruled that rival Samsung had violated a number of Apple patents. He said the court's decision sent a clear message that "stealing isn't right."

Following Apple’s monumental billion-dollar victory over Samsung in a US patent infringement trial lasting almost a month, Apple CEO Tim Cook issued a memo to all employees telling them the jury’s decision sent a “loud and clear message that stealing isn’t right.”

He also said the lawsuit had been about “values” more than anything else. “We value originality and innovation and pour our lives into making the best products on earth,” Cook wrote in the memo. “And we do this to delight our customers, not for competitors to flagrantly copy.”

He added that he was “thrilled” Apple had finally had the chance to tell its story and thanked the jurors for giving their time.

The Apple boss will be doubly delighted today, as August 24 marks his first anniversary at the helm of the tech giant.

Cook’s memo to Apple employees is shown in full below:

Today was an important day for Apple and for innovators everywhere.

Many of you have been closely following the trial against Samsung in San Jose for the past few weeks. We chose legal action very reluctantly and only after repeatedly asking Samsung to stop copying our work. For us this lawsuit has always been about something much more important than patents or money. It’s about values. We value originality and innovation and pour our lives into making the best products on earth. And we do this to delight our customers, not for competitors to flagrantly copy.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the jury who invested their time in listening to our story. We were thrilled to finally have the opportunity to tell it. The mountain of evidence presented during the trial showed that Samsung’s copying went far deeper than we knew.

The jury has now spoken. We applaud them for finding Samsung’s behavior willful and for sending a loud and clear message that stealing isn’t right.

I am very proud of the work that each of you do. Today, values have won and I hope the whole world listens.

Tim

[via 9to5Mac]