Apple Inc. (AAPL) Took to the Courts Against Samsung Only As a Last Resort, says Cook

Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) took recourse to legal channels to fight Samsung's infringements on its patents, only as a last resort, Chief Executive Tim Cool told his employees in an internal memo.

Reuters, which originally wrote about Cook's memo, said that the missive was sent to its employees late on Friday, after a nine-member jury ruled in favour of Apple, saying that Samsung had violated its patents and ordering it to pay more than $1 billion in damages.

The memo, of which a copy has been obtained by Reuters, said that the Cupertino company repeatedly told Samsung about the violations and had asked it to stop copying its designs.

"We chose legal action very reluctantly and only after repeatedly asking Samsung to stop copying our work," Cook said in the memo.

"The jury has now spoken," Cook said in the memo titled "An important day for Apple."

"We applaud them for finding Samsung's behavior willful and for sending a loud and clear message that stealing isn't right," Cook said, adding that he hopes "the whole world listens."

When Apple sued Samsung in April 2011, one of its main contentions was that the Korean company had copied the designs of its iPhones and iPads and used them to build its Galaxy range of devices, which have propelled it to leadership position in the smartphone segment.

Reuters observed that the verdict came as a one-year anniversary present for Cook, who took over the CEO job from late co-founder Steve Jobs exactly a year ago.

It also vindicates Cook's long-held position that the company cannot "be the developer for the world."