Samsung Pays Apple $1 Billion Sending 30 Trucks Full of 5 Cents Coins - Facts Analysis

Story:

This morning more than 30 trucks filled with 5-cent coins arrived at Apple’s headquarters in California. Initially, the security company that protects the facility said the trucks were in the wrong place, but minutes later, Tim Cook (Apple CEO) received a call from Samsung CEO explaining that they will pay $1 billion dollars for the fine recently ruled against the South Korean company in this way.

Analysis:

These messages and videos claim and show that Samsung, the South Korean company pays Apple an amount of $1 Billion by sending 30 trucks full of 5 Cents coins to their office, after a decision made by a patent infringement lawsuit.

It is a fact that in August 2012, a US – California based jury of a patent infringement lawsuit found that Samsung had copied some of the patented features of Apple’s iPhone and iPad technologies in many of its products, and therefore Apple was awarded $1.05 billion (not $1 Billion as mentioned in message) for the damage.

Apple Inc. filed this patent infringement lawsuit in April 2011. However, these messages, in various forms started sweeping the internet since then, creating humor and satire of this situation, claiming that Samsung had paid this fine to Apple in nickels. There are no facts in such messages, these are simply hoaxes.

If Samsung were to pay $1 billion dollars in 5 cent coins (nickels), it would require 20 billion coins, but statistics say that the US Mint produces less than a billion nickels in a year, which means Samsung can not arrange such a large number of nickels without their help. No surprise, there wasn’t any such news. Moreover, to carry 20 billion nickel coins, it would take much more than 30 trucks. A single nickel weighs around 5 grams, so $1 Billion would weigh around 100,000 tons (20 billion nickel coins x 5), which means each of those 30 trucks must be carrying about 3,333 tons of coins? It is highly impossible.

Even an 18 wheeler truck can only hold up to 40 tons of nickels, which means this needs at least 2500 trucks or more. So, quite clearly these messages are nothing but hoaxes. The YouTube video above which shows set of trucks being transported is listed in ‘Comedy’ category, not ‘News’, which clearly explains it again.

As far as the patent infringement judgement is concerned, it is not going to be a final judgement that Samsung is going to accept. In any such high profile legal issues, the company, Samsung here, will appeal to higher levels of judiciary. More recently, Apple Inc. lost this patent lawsuit in Japan, as a Tokyo judge ruled out Samsung’s infringement of Apple’s products, and that, as a fine, Apple has to pay the costs of the lawsuit to Samsung after this verdict. Both Apple and Samsung are technology giants and such a high profile legal issue between them will take some time to sort out.

Therefore, the messages claiming that Samsung pays Apple $1 Billion in 30 trucks full of 5 cent coins is nothing but a hoax.