Lupu Alexandru group

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
History...................................................................................................................... 3
1969 to 1987 - Early years....................................................................................... 3
1988-1995 - Consumer struggles............................................................................3
1995-2008 - Component manufacturing...................................................................4
2008 to present - Consumer products.....................................................................4
Operations................................................................................................................. 6
Products.................................................................................................................... 7
LCD and LED panels.............................................................................................. 7
Mobile phones....................................................................................................... 8
Semiconductors.................................................................................................... 9
Televisions............................................................................................................ 9
Other.................................................................................................................. 10
Management and board of directors............................................................................ 11
Market share............................................................................................................ 12
Major clients............................................................................................................ 13
Relationship with Apple Inc..................................................................................13
Design.................................................................................................................... 14
Environmental record................................................................................................ 14
Controversies........................................................................................................... 15
DRAM price fixing................................................................................................ 15
Litigations........................................................................................................... 15
Safety issues....................................................................................................... 16
Viral marketing.................................................................................................... 16
References.............................................................................................................. 17

SMSUNG ELECTRONICS
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a South Korean multinational electronics company
headquartered in Suwon, South Korea.[2] It is the flagship subsidiary of the Samsung Group and has been
the world's largest information technology company by revenues since 2009.[3] Samsung Electronics
has assembly plants and sales networks in 88 countries and employs around 370,000 people. [4] For 2012
the CEO is Kwon Oh-Hyun.[5]
Samsung has long been a major manufacturer of electronic components such as lithium-ion
batteries, semiconductors, chips, flash memory and hard drive devices for clients such as Apple, Sony,
HTC and Nokia.[6] [7]
In recent years, the company has diversified into consumer electronics. [8] It is the world's largest
manufacturer of mobile phones and smartphonesfueled by the popularity of its Samsung Galaxy line of
devices.[9] The company is also a major vendor of tablet computers, particularly its Androidpowered Samsung Galaxy Tab collection, and is generally regarded as pioneering the phablet market
through the Samsung Galaxy Note family of devices.[10]
Samsung has been the world's largest maker of LCD panels since 2002, the world's largest
television manufacturer since 2006,[11] and world's largest manufacturer of mobile phones since 2011.
[12]
Samsung Electronics displaced Apple Inc. as the world's largest technology company in 2011 and is a
major part of the South Korean economy.

History
1969 to 1987 - Early years
Samsung Electric Industries was established as an industry Samsung Group in 1969 in Suwon,
South Korea.[13] Its early products were electronic and electrical appliances including televisions,
calculators, refrigerators, air conditioners and washing machines. In 1970, Samsung Group established
another subsidiary, Samsung-NEC, jointly with Japan's NEC Corporation to manufacture home
appliances and audiovisual devices. In 1974, the group expanded into the semiconductor business by
acquiring Korea Semiconductor, one of the first chip-making facilities in the country at the time. The
acquisition of Korea Telecommunications, an electronic switching system producer, was completed at the
start of the next decade in 1980.
By 1981, Samsung Electric Industries had manufactured over 10 million black-and-white
televisions. In February 1983, Samsung's founder, Lee Byung-chull, made an announcement later
dubbed the "Tokyo declaration", in which he declared that Samsung intended to become
a DRAM(dynamic random access memory) vendor. One year later, Samsung became the third company
in the world to develop a 64kb DRAM.[citation needed]In 1988, Samsung Electric Industries merged with
Samsung Semiconductor & Communications to form Samsung Electronics.

1988-1995 - Consumer struggles

Samsung Electronics launched its first mobile phone in 1988, in the South Korean market.
Sales were initially poor and by the early 1990s Motorola held a market share of over 60 percent in the
country's mobile phone market compared to just 10 percent for Samsung. [14] Samsung's mobile phone
[14]

division also struggled with poor quality and inferior products until the mid-1990s and exit from the sector
was a frequent topic of discussion within the company.[14]
Samsung Electronics acquired a 40 percent stake in AST Research, a United States-based
personal computer maker, for US$378 million in February 1995. [15]

1995-2008 - Component manufacturing

It was decided by Lee Kun-Hee that Samsung needed to change strategy. The company shelved
the production of many under-selling product lines and instead pursued a process of designing and
manufacturing components and investing in new technologies for other companies. In addition, Samsung
outlined a 10-year plan to shrug off its image as a "budget brand" and to challenge Sony as the world's
largest consumer electronics manufacturer. It was hoped in this way Samsung would gain an
understanding of how products are made and give a technological lead sometime in the future. This
patient vertical integration strategy of manufacturing components has born fruit for Samsung in the late2000s.[16]
As Samsung shifted away from consumer markets, the company devised a plan to sponsor major
sporting events to remain in the public eye. One such sponsorship was for the 1998 Winter Olympics held
in Nagano, Japan.[17]
As a chaebol, Samsung Group wielded wealth that allowed the company to invest and develop
new technology rather than build products at a level which would not have a detrimental impact on
Samsung's finances.[18]
Samsung had a number of technological breakthroughs particularly in the field of memory which
are commonplace in most electrical products today. This includes the world's first 64Mb DRAM in 1992,
256 Mb DRAM in 1994, 1Gb DRAM in 1996.[19] In 2004, Samsung developed the world's first 8Gb NAND
Memory chip and a manufacturing deal was struck with Apple in 2005. A deal to supply Apple for memory
chips was sealed in 2005 and, as of October 2013, Samsung remains a key supplier of Apple
components, manufacturing the A7 processors that are inside the iPhone 5s model.[20][21]

2008 to present - Consumer products

The Samsung display at the 2008 Internationale Funkausstellung in Berlin

For four consecutive years, from 2000 to 2003, Samsung posted net earnings higher than fivepercent; this was at a time when 16 out of the 30 top South Korean companies ceased operating in the
wake of the unprecedented crisis.[22][23]
In 2005, Samsung Electronics surpassed Japanese rival, Sony, for the first time to become the
world's twentieth-largest and most popular consumer brand, as measured by Interbrand.[24]
In 2007, Samsung Electronics became the world's second-largest mobile-phone maker,
overtaking Motorola for the first time. [25] In 2009, Samsung achieved total revenues of US$117.4 billion,
overtaking Hewlett-Packard to become the world's largest technology company measured by sales. [26]
In 2009 and 2010, the US and EU fined the company, together with eight other memory chip
makers, for its part in a price-fixing scheme that occurred between 1999 and 2002. Other companies fined
included Infineon Technologies, Elpida Memory and Micron Technology.[27][28][29][30][31] In December 2010,
the EU granted immunity to Samsung Electronics for acting as an informant during the investigation (LG
Display, AU Optronics, Chimei InnoLux, Chunghwa Picture Tubes and HannStar Display were implicated
as result of the company's intelligence). [32][33]
Despite consistent growth, Samsung, along with its chairman Lee Kun-hee, has developed a
reputation for insecurity regarding its financial stability and the potential for future crises to arise. After
returning from a temporary retirement period in March 2010, Kun-hee stated that "Samsung Electronics'
future is not guaranteed because most of our flagship products will be obsolete in 10 years from now." [34]
Samsung has emphasized innovation in its management strategy since the early 2000s and it
again highlighted innovation as part of core strategies when it announced the Vision 2020 in which the
company set an ambitious goal of reaching $400 billion in annual revenues within ten years. In order to
cement its leadership in the areas of memory chip and television production, the company has invested
aggressively in research and development. The company has 24 research-and-development centers
around the world.
In April 2011, Samsung Electronics sold its HDD commercial operations to Seagate
Technology for approximately US$1.4 billion. The payment was composed of 45.2 million Seagate shares
(9.6 percent of shares), worth US$687.5 million, and a cash sum for the remainder.[35]
In the first quarter of 2012, the company became the highest-selling mobile phone company when
it overtook Nokia, selling 93.5 million units compared to Nokia's 82.7 million units. Samsung also became
the largest smartphone vendor as a result of strong sales of its Galaxy SII and Galaxy Note devices.[36]
In May 2013, Samsung announced that it had finally managed to test speed-enhanced fifth
generation (5G) technology successfully.
In April 2013, Samsung Electronics' new entry into its Galaxy S series smartphone range,
the Galaxy S4 was made available for retail. Released as the upgrade of the best-selling Galaxy S III, the
S4 was sold in some international markets with the companys Exynos processor.[37]
In July 2013, Samsung Electronics forecasted weaker than expected profits for its April to June
quarter. While analysts expected around 10.1 trillion won, Samsung Electronics estimated an operating
profit of 9.5 trillion (US$8.3 billion).[38] During the same month, Samsung acquired the media streaming
device manufacturer Boxee for a reported $30 million.[39]

On August 5, 2013, invitations were received for the "Samsung Unpacked 2013 Episode 2" event
on September 4, 2013 in Berlin, Germany during the annual IFA conference. While the invitation does not
present any details of the event, industry figures stated that the launch of the Galaxy Note III device is
expected, as Samsung used the 2012 IFA conference to launch the Galaxy Note II.[40]
Samsungs mobile business chief Shin Jong-kyun stated to the Korea Times on September 11,
2013 that Samsung Electronics will further develop its presence in China to strengthen its market position
in relation to Apple. The Samsung executive also confirmed that a 64-bit smartphone handset will be
released to match the ARM-based A7 processor of Apple's iPhone 5s model that was released in
September 2013.[41]
Due to smartphone salesespecially sales of lower-priced handsets in markets such as India
and ChinaSamsung achieved record earnings in the third quarter of 2013. The operating profit for this
period rose to about 10.1 trillion won (US$9.4 billion), a figure that was boosted by memory chip sales to
customers such as Apple, Inc.[21]
On October 14, 2013, Samsung Electronics offers an apology for using refurbished components
from cheaper desktop computers to fix higher-end products on the heels of growing criticism of the tech
giant's unethical business practices as exposed Sunday by MBC TVs current affairs magazine 2580. [42]

Operations

A Samsung phone store in the shopping mall SM Aura Premier in Bonifacio Global City, Metro Manila, Philippines.

The company focuses on four areas: digital media, semiconductor, telecommunication network,
and LCD digital appliances.[43]
The digital-media business area covers computer devices such as laptop computers and laser
printers; digital displays such as televisions and computer monitors; and consumer entertainment
devices such as DVD players, MP3 players and digital camcorders; and home appliances such as
refrigerators, air conditioners, air purifiers, washers, microwave ovens, and vacuum cleaners.
The semiconductor-business area includes semiconductor chips such as SDRAM, SRAM,
NAND flash memory; smart cards; mobile application processors; mobile TV receivers; RF transceivers;
CMOS Image sensors, Smart Card IC, MP3 IC, DVD/Blu-ray Disc/HD DVD Player SOC and multi-chip
package (MCP); and storage devices such as optical disc drives and formerly hard disk drives.

The telecommunication-network-business area includes multi-service DSLAMs and fax machines;

cellular devices such as mobile phones, PDA phones, and hybrid devices called mobile intelligent
terminals (MITs); and satellite receivers.
The LCD business area focuses on producing TFT-LCD and organic light-emitting diode (OLED)
panels for laptops, desktop monitors, and televisions.
Samsung Print was established in 2009 as a separate entity to focus on B2B sales and has
released a broad range of multifunctional devices and printers and more.

Products
LCD and LED panels

The Samsung Galaxy S II, which incorporates a Super AMOLED Plus screen

By 2004 Samsung was the world's-largest manufacturer of OLEDs, with a 40 percent market
share worldwide,[44] and as of 2010 has a 98% share of the global AMOLED market.[45] The company
generated $100.2 million out of the total $475 million revenues in the global OLED market in 2006. [46] As
of 2006, it held more than 600 American patents and more than 2,800 international patents, making it the
largest owner of AMOLEDtechnology patents.[46]
Samsung's current AMOLED smartphones use its Super AMOLED trademark, with the Samsung
Wave S8500 and Samsung i9000 Galaxy Sbeing launched in June 2010. In January 2011, it announced
its Super AMOLED Plus displays [47] which offer several advances over the olderSuper
AMOLED displays real stripe matrix (50 percent more sub pixels), thinner form factor, brighter image
and an 18 percent reduction in energy consumption.
In October 2007, Samsung introducing a ten-millimeter thick, 40-inch LCD television panel,
followed in October 2008 by the world's first 7.9-mm panel. [48] Samsung developed panels for 24-inch
LCD monitors (3.5 mm) and 12.1-inch laptops (1.64 mm).[49] In 2009, Samsung succeeded in developing
a panel for forty-inch LED televisions, with a thickness of 3.9 millimeters (0.15 inch). Dubbed the "Needle
Slim", the panel is as thick (or thin) as two coins put together. This is about a twelfth of the conventional
LCD panel whose thickness is approximately 50 millimeters (1.97 inches).

While reducing the thickness substantially, the company maintained the performance of previous
models, including full HD resolution, 120 Hz refresh rate, and 5000:1 contrast ratio. [50] On September 6,
2013, Samsung launched its 55-inch curved OLED TV (model KE55S9C) in the United Kingdom with
John Lewis.[51]
In early October 2013, the Samsung corporation disseminated a press release for its curved
display technology with the Galaxy Round smartphone model. The press release described the product
as the "worlds first commercialized full HD Super AMOLED flexible display." The manufacturer explains
that users can check information such as time and battery life when the home screen is off, and can
receive information from the screen by tilting the device. [52]

Mobile phones

Samsung Galaxy Note series

Samsung's flagship mobile handset line is the Samsung Galaxy S, which many consider a direct
competitor of the Apple iPhone.[53] It was initially launched in Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea in
June 2010,[54][55][56] followed by the United States in July. It sold more than one million units within the first
45 days on sale in the United States.[57]
The company's I9000 Galaxy S and S8500 Wave smartphones were the winners of the 2010
European EISA Awards in the smartphone and social media phone categories.
While many other handset makers tended to focus on supporting one or two operating system,
Samsung for a time kept supporting a wider range, like Symbian, Windows Phone, Linux-based LiMo, and
Samsung's proprietary Bada.[58]
By 2013 Samsung had dropped all operating systems except Android and Windows Phone. That
year Samsung released at least 43 Android phones or tablets and two Windows Phones. [59]
At the end of the third quarter of 2010, the company had surpassed the 70 million unit mark in
shipped phones, giving it a global marketshare of 22 percent, trailing Nokia by 12 percent.[60][61] Overall,
the company sold 280 million mobile phones in 2010, corresponding to a market share of 20.2 percent.
[62]
Partially owing to strong sales of the Samsung Galaxy range of smartphones, the company overtook
Apple in worldwide smartphone sales during the third quarter 2011, with a total market share of 23.8
percent, compared to Apple's 14.6-percent share. [63] Samsung became the world's largest cellphone
maker in 2012, with the sales of 95 million smart phones in the first quarter.[64]

During the third quarter of 2013, Samsung's smartphone sales were boosted by a strong
consumer reception in emerging markets such as India and the Middle East, where lower-priced handsets
were popular. As of October 2013, the company offers 40 smartphone models on its US website. [21]

Semiconductors

A Samsung DDR-SDRAM

Samsung Electronics has been the world's-largest memory chip maker since 1993. In 2009 it
started mass-producing 30 nm-class NAND flash memories.[65] It succeeded in 2010 in mass-producing
30 nm-class DRAMs and 20 nm-class NAND flashes, both of which were the first time in the world. [66]
According to market-research firm Gartner, during the second quarter of 2010 Samsung
Electronics took the top position in the DRAM segment due to brisk sales of the item on the world market.
Gartner analysts said in their report, "Samsung cemented its leading position by taking a 35-percent
market share. All the other suppliers had minimal change in their shares." The company took the top slot
in the ranking, followed by Hynix, Elpida, and Micron, said Gartner.[67]
Another hitherto not-well-publicized area where the company had significant business in for years
is the foundry segment. It had begun investment in the foundry business since 2006 and now positioned it
as one of the strategic pillars for semiconductor growth. [68]
In 2010, market researcher IC Insights predicted that Samsung would become the world's-biggest
semiconductor chip supplier by 2014, surpassing Intel. For the ten-year period from 1999 to 2009,
Samsung's compound annual growth rate in semiconductor revenues has been 13.5 percent, compared
with 3.4 percent for Intel.[69][70]

Televisions
In 2009, Samsung sold around 31 million flat-panel televisions, enabling to it to maintain the
world's largest market share for a fourth consecutive year.[71]
Samsung launched its first full HD 3D LED television in March 2010. [72] Samsung had showcased
the product at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2010) held in Las Vegas. [73]
Samsung sold more than one million 3D televisions within six months of its launch. This is the
figure close to what many market researchers forecast for the year's worldwide 3D television sales (1.23
million units).[74] It also debuted the 3D Home Theater (HT-C6950W) that allows the user to enjoy 3D
image and surround sound at the same time. With the launch of 3D Home Theater, Samsung became the

first company in the industry to have the full line of 3D offerings, including 3D television, 3D Blu-ray
player, 3D content, and 3D glasses.[75]
In 2007, Samsung introduced the Internet TV, enabling the viewer to receive information from the
Internet while at the same time watching conventional television programming. Samsung later developed
"Smart LED TV" (now renamed to "Samsung Smart TV"[76]), which additionally supports
downloaded apps. In 2008, the company launched the Power Infolink service, followed in 2009 by a
whole new Internet@TV. In 2010, it started marketing the 3D television while unveiling the upgraded
Internet@TV 2010, which offers free (or for-fee) download of applications from its Samsung Apps store, in
addition to existing services such as news, weather, stock market, YouTube videos, and movies. [77]
Samsung Apps offers for-fee premium services in a few countries including Korea and the United
States. The services will be custom-tailored for each region. Samsung plans to offer family-oriented
applications such as health care programs and digital picture frames as well as games. Samsung's range
of Smart TVs include the apps ITV Player and motion controlled Angry Birds.

Other

The Samsung GX-10 digital SLR camera

Samsung produces printers for both consumers and business use, including mono-laser printers,
color laser printers, multifunction printers, and enterprise-use high-speed digital multifunction printer
models.
In 2010, the company introduced a number of energy efficient products, including the laptop
R580, netbook N210, the world's-smallest mono-laser printer ML-1660, and color laser multifunction
printer CLX-3185.
Samsung has introduced several models of digital cameras and camcorders including the WB550
camera, the ST550 dual-LCD-mounted camera, and the HMX-H106 (64GB SSD-mounted full HD
camcorder). In 2009, the company took the third place in the compact camera segment. Since then, the
company has focused more on higher-priced items. In 2010, the company launched the NX10, the nextgeneration interchangeable lens camera.
In the area of storage media, in 2009 Samsung achieved a ten percent world market share,
driven by the introduction of a new hard disk drive capable of storing 250Gb per 2.5-inch disk.[78] In 2010,
the company started marketing the 320Gb-per-disk HDD, the largest in the industry. In addition, it was
focusing more on selling external hard disk drives. Following financial losses, the hard disk division was
sold to Seagate in 2011.

10

In the MP3 player segment, Samsung has launched products including the M1 MP3 player, and
the world's-smallest DivX MP3 player R1.[79]

Management and board of directors

In December 2010, Samsung switched its management system from the single CEO system of
last year under Choi Gee-Sung, to a two-person management team with Choi Gee-Sung, CEO and Vice
chairman, and Lee Jae-Yong, Chief Operating officer and President. In June 2012, Samsung appointed
Kwon Oh-hyun as the new CEO of the company.[80] The team was credited as being younger both in age
and in outlook, and some executives dyed their hair black. [81] Samsung also reorganized its overseas
marketing bases in line with changes in the market, including a combined Britain/Continental Europe
regional subsidiary, and a combined China/Taiwan regional subsidiary.
In 2012, Samsung appointed Director of Mobile Products, Mr JK Shin to President/CEO of
Samsung Electronics for Mobile Consumer Products.
The company added a new digital imaging business division in 2010, and now consists of eight
divisions, including the existing display, IT solutions, consumer electronics, wireless, networking,
semiconductor, and LCD divisions.
It also reorganized its business organization to strengthen business synergies, by merging its
Digital Air Solutions Team and Samsung Electronics Gwangju (consumer electronics and air conditioners,
merged in 2010) under the consumer electronics business division. The set-top boxes business was
merged with the Visual Display Business division.
The company's December 2010 reorganization was as follows: Among the eight divisions, the
network division and the digital imaging division experienced new appointments, while the remaining
divisions were maintained in accordance with their results.

11

Market share
Product

Samsung
Leading competitor Market share Year
world market share

Source

DRAM

40.4%

SK Hynix

19.8%

Q3 2010

[83]

NAND flash

40.4%

Toshiba

33.1%

Q2 2010

[84]

Large-size LCD panels

26.0%
(revenue)

LG Display

25.9%

Q3 2010

[85]

Active-matrix OLEDs

97%

LG Display

1~3%

2010

[86]

Lithium-ion batteries

18.7%

Sanyo

19.4%

Q1 2010

[87]

LCD monitors

18.0%

Dell

12.8%

2009

[88]

Hard-disk drives

9%

Western Digital

31.3%

Q1 2010

[89]

Televisions
17.2%
(LCD, PDP, CRT, LED)

LG Electronics

14.8%

Q3 2009

[90]

Mobile phones

35%

Nokia

23%

Q3 2013

[91]

Digital cameras

11.8%

Sony

17.4%

2010

[92]

Application processors

12%

Texas Instruments

17%

Q3,4 2011

[93]

12

Major clients
Samsung's largest clients (Q1 2010)[94]

Buying
(trillion KRW)

Percent of total
sales

Rank/company

Part description

1 Sony

DRAM, NAND flash, LCD panels,

1.28
etc...

3.7

2 Apple Inc.

AP (mobile processor), DRAM, NAND

0.9
flash, etc...

2.6

3 Dell

DRAM,
flat-panels,
batteries, etc...

lithium-ion

0.87

2.5

4 Hewlett-Packard

DRAM,
flat-panels,
batteries, etc...

lithium-ion

0.76

2.2

5 Verizon
Communications

Handsets, etc...

0.5

1.3

6 AT&T Inc.

Handsets, etc...

0.5

1.3

Relationship with Apple Inc.

Despite recent litigation activity, Samsung and Apple have been described as frenemies who
share a love-hate relationship.[95] Samsung is a major supplier for Apple - first providing memory for the
early iPod devices in 2005,[20] and Apple is a key customer for Samsung - in 2012 its component sales
were thought to be worth in the region of $8 billion revenue to Samsung [95] - to the point where Apple CEO
Tim Cook originally opposed litigation against Samsung wary of the company's critical component supply
chain for Apple.[96]
In April 2011, Apple Inc. announced that they were suing Samsung over the design of its Galaxy
range of mobile phones. The lawsuit was filed on 15 April 2011 and alleges that Samsung infringed on
Apple's trademarks and patents of the iPhone and iPad.[97] Samsung issued a counterclaim against Apple

13

of patent infringement.[13] In August 2011, at The Regional Court of Dsseldorf, Apple were granted
a preliminary injunction against the sale and marketing of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 across the whole
of Europe excluding the Netherlands. [98] The ban has been temporarily lifted in the European Union, with
the exclusion of Germany, whilst it is investigated whether or not the original injunction was appropriate. [99]
On August 31, 2012, the Tokyo District Court ruled Samsung Electronics' mobile devices did not
violate an Apple Inc. patent.[100] The case only addressed Apple's patent that allows mobile devices and
personal computers to synchronize or share data with each other and is not comparable with the U.S.
court case ruled on 24 August. On October 18, 2012, U.K. High Court ruled that Samsung did not infringe
Apple's design patents. Apple was forced to issue a court-ordered apology to Samsung on its official U.K.
website.[101]

Design
In the early 1990s, the firm began emphasizing the importance of design in its products. Located
in the company's high-rise headquarters in Gangnam (south of Seoul) the corporate design center
includes more than 900 full-time designers. In 1971 there were only two designers [102] in the whole
company, whose number rose to 510 in 2005.[citation needed]
The company overhauls its design over a two-year cycle. For the first year, it scrutinizes design
trends of the world, followed by product strategies. It then maps out new design plans during the second
year.
Since 2006, it has won as many as 210 awards from international design institutions. [citation needed] It
received the iF (International Forum) and IDEA design awards. Samsung was the winner in eight
categories in the 2009 IDEA awards, the company that received the most awards. [103]
In the 2010 iF Material Awards, the company won the Gold Award for five of its products including
the external hard disk drive. The iF Material Awards are given by the International Forum Design GmbH of
Hannover, a design award for design materials and process technologies. In 2010, the German company
selected a total of 42 products in the areas of home appliance, furniture, and industrial design. Samsung
won the awards in five categories including external hard disk, full-touch screen phone, "side-by-side"
refrigerator, compact digital camera, and laser printer toner.[104]

Environmental record
All Samsung mobile phones and MP3 players introduced on the market after April 2010 are free
from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs). [105]
The company is listed in Greenpeace's Guide to Greener Electronics, which rates electronics
companies on policies and practices to reduce their impact on the climate, produce greener products, and
make their operations more sustainable. In November 2011 Samsung was ranked 7th out of 15 leading
electronics makers with a score of 4.1/10. [106] In the newly re-launched guide Samsung moved down two
places (occupying 5th position in October 2010) but scored maximum points for providing verified data
and its greenhouse gas emissions and also scored well for its Sustainable Operations with the guide
praising its relatively good e-waste take-back programme and information. However, the company was
criticized for not setting an ambitious target to increase its use of renewable energy and for belonging to a
trade association which has commented against energy efficiency standards. [106]

14

In June 2004, Samsung was the first major electronics company to publicly commit to eliminate
PVC and BFRs from new models of all its products. The company however failed to meet its deadlines to
be PVC- and BFRs-free, and has published new phase out dates. [107] Greenpeace activists protested at
the company's Benelux headquarters in March 2010 for what Greenpeace calls Samsung's broken
promises.[108]
The company has been taking the lead in industry efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
the company has been awarded as one of global top-ten companies in the Carbon Disclosure Leadership
Index (CDLI). It was the only Asian company among top-ten companies. In addition, the company is listed
in Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI).[109]
The company's achievement ratio of products approaching the Global Ecolabel level ("Good EcoProducts" within the company) is 11 percentage points above the 2010 goal (80 percent). As of the first
half of 2010, Samsung earned the Global Ecolabel for its 2,134 models, thereby becoming the world's
number-one company in terms of the number of products meeting Global Ecolabel standards. [109]
The company is also accelerating its effort to recover and recycle electronic wastes. [110] The
amount of wastes salvaged throughout 60 countries during 2009 was as much as 240,000 tons. The
"Samsung Recycling Direct" program, the company's voluntary recycling program under way in the United
States, was expanded to Canada.[111]
In 2008, the company was praised for its recycling effort by the U.S. advocacy group Electronics
Take Back Coalition as the "best eco-friendly recycling program". [112]

Controversies
DRAM price fixing
In December 2010, the European Commission fined six LCD panel producers, including
Samsung, a total of 648.925 million for operating as a cartel. The company received a full reduction of
the potential fine for being the first firm to assist EU anti-trust authorities. [113]
On October 19, 2011, Samsung was fined EUR 145,727,000 for being part of a price cartel of ten
companies for DRAMs which lasted from 1 July 1998 to 15 June 2002. The company received, like most
of the other members of the cartel, a 10-% reduction for acknowledging the facts to investigators.
Samsung had to pay 90% of their share of the settlement, but Micron avoided payment as a result of
having initially revealed the case to investigators.[114]

Litigations
Apple sued Samsung on April 15, 2011 in the United States District Court for the Northern District
of California that several of Samsung's Android phones and tablets, including the Nexus S, Epic
4G, Galaxy S 4G, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab, infringed on Apples intellectual property: its
patents, trademarks, user interface and style.[115] Apple's complaint included specific federal claims for
patent infringement, false designation of origin, unfair competition, and trademark infringement, as well as
state-level claims for unfair competition, common law trademark infringement, andunjust enrichment.[116]
[117]

15

On August 24, 2012 the jury returned a verdict largely favorable to Apple. It found that Samsung
had willfully infringed on Apple's design and utility patents and had also diluted Apple's trade dresses
related to the iPhone. The jury awarded Apple $1.049 billion in damages and Samsung zero damages in
its counter suit.[118] The jury found Samsung infringed Apple's patents on iPhone's "Bounce-Back Effect"
(US Patent No.7,469,381), "On-screen Navigation (US Patent No.7,844,915), and "Tap To Zoom" (US
Patent No.7,864,163), and design patents that covers iPhone's features such as the "home button,
rounded corners and tapered edges" (US D593087) and "On-Screen Icons" (US D604305). [119]

Safety issues
Despite their phones' popularity, several explosions of Samsung mobile phones has been
reported.[120] A Swiss teenager was left with second and third degree burns in her thigh due to her Galaxy
S3's explosion[121] followed by two more Galaxy S3 explosions in Switzerland[122] and Ireland.[123] A house
in Hong Kong was set on fire by a Samsung Galaxy S4 in July 2013, [124]followed by another minor burnt
Galaxy S4 in Pakistan.[125] A South Korean student's Galaxy S2 battery also exploded in 2012.[126]

Viral marketing
On 1 April 2013, several documents were shown on TaiwanSamsungLeaks.org that the
advertising company OpenTide (Taiwan) and its parent company Samsung are hiring students to attack
its competitors by spreading harmful words and biased opinions/reviews about other phone
manufacturers' products such as Sony and HTC in several famous forums and websites in Taiwan in
order to improve its brand image. The uploader of the documents, hacker "0xb" said that the documents
were intercepted from an email between OpenTide and Samsung. [127] Taiwan Samsung Electronics
announced 4 days later, guaranteeing the company will "stop all online marketing strategies which
involves publishing and replying in online forums." [128] It was widely reported by the Taiwanese media. [129]
[130][131][132]
Taiwan later fined Samsung Electronics for the smear campaign. [133]

16

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