http://beta.fool.com/jaans/2012/08/30/apple-wins-tim-cook-memo/10525/?ticker=AAPL&source=eogyholnk0000001

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) CEO Tim Cook has apparently sent a memo to employees, reports blog 9to5mac.

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. [Emphasis added]

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

I think this lends an interesting light on the situation. If we take Mr. Cook at his word, that he is sincere and that this is not simply spin, then it is an insight into both his thinking and the whole Apple culture. In particular is the portion I highlighted.

I have argued in a previous post that Apple has succeeded precisely because it focuses on quality and on providing a user experience that (in Mr. Cook’s words) delights the customer. Many people do not understand that when this effort is stolen by others, it is more than simply an economic issue – it is personal. As a person who works hard at my own craft (my fiction editor once commented that he sees I am “meticulous about my work”) I understand very well the attachment one has to one’s creations. That someone else will take off from ideas you have expressed is one thing. To have just copied is another. It is a personal affront.

Of course many will be cynical (there is a lot to be cynical about these days), and will put these words down as simply a disingenuous, manipulative piece of PR. They have a right to their opinion, but I, for one, believe he is sincere. I see how the copying by Samsung (Willful - as found by the jury) is a personal thing for all the engineers at Apple who worked hard to create something beautiful and delightful for their customers. I see how the result is a personal triumph for each of them.

=============== end of article