Samsung gets the upper-hand in a Trade Commission ruling

Tuesdays ruling in favor of Samsung would strengthen companys hopes of conquering more market share. The multinational conglomerate has been trying to differentiate itself from the image of an Apples product follower. “The business impact will be very limited,” says CW Chung, an analyst at Nomura Group for The Financial Times. The limitations ruled by the US International Trade Commission applies only to some older devices.

The news that Apple used Samsung technology shook the image of company as a leader in innovation and confirmed recent voicing that the iPhone maker is loosing edge in innovation technology market. That may give a great advantage to recently growing momentum of Samsung especially in the smartphone market. The company already passed Apple by number of units sold, however the iPhone producer has been holding higher retail prices making it the most profitable firm in the niche.

Both companies are top competitors on the tablet market too. While Apples market share is contracting to 39.6% from 58.1% last year, Samsung is growing from 11.3% to 17.9% this year.

“Competition in these markets is no longer about new technology or innovation because it is becoming harder to differentiate their products,” says Suh Won-suk, an analyst at Korea Investment and Securities. “It will be more about volume and cost competitiveness, which puts Samsung at an advantage” he added for The Wall Street Journal.

Those suing practices could turn each way around as both companies have proven recent months. This is surely not the final trial between the two tech giants.

Samsung is facing pressure from the European Commissions antitrust regulators who have accused it of anti-competitive behavior by refusing to grant access of technology to rivals. This is a similar case to the one with Apple and e-book publisher agreements of fixed prices. Both cases include moral and lawful infringement of competitive behavior.