Apple won more than $1 billion in a massive US court victory over
Samsung on Friday, in one of the biggest patent cases in decades - a
verdict that could have huge market repercussions.
A jury in San Jose, California awarded $1.049 billion to the US tech
giant, according to reports from the courtroom. But analysts said the
damages could be tripled because jurors found Samsung "willfully"
infringed on patents.
The jury rejected the South Korean electronics firm's counterclaims
against Apple, which had claimed its iconic iPhone and iPad had been
illegally copied, according to live court reports from the tech sites
The Verge and Cnet.
Samsung reacted by saying the verdict was "a loss" for consumers and
that Apple had "manipulated" the patent system.
The South Korean firm also said the verdict was "not the final word"
in this case or other similar battles around the world.
"Today's verdict should not be viewed as a win for Apple, but as a
loss for the American consumer," Samsung said.
"It is unfortunate that patent law can be manipulated to give one
company a monopoly over rectangles with rounded corners, or technology
that is being improved every day by Samsung and other companies...
Samsung will continue to innovate and offer choices for the consumer."
The decision appeared to be an overwhelming victory for Apple, but it
was not immediately clear if it would halt sales of Samsung devices or
affect newer models released since the case was filed.
"This is a huge, crushing win for Apple," said Brian Love, a professor
of patent law at Santa Clara University.
"All of its patents were held valid, and all but one were held to be
infringed by most or all accused Samsung products. Even better for the
company, five of the seven patents were held to be willfully infringed
by Samsung."
Love said this means that Judge Lucy Koh "now has the discretion to
triple Apple's damages award, which is already a monstrous and
unprecedented" sum.
The case, which is almost certain to face appeal, could shake up the
sizzling market for mobile devices in which Apple has been losing
ground to rivals like Samsung that use the free Android system
developed by Google.
"Samsung is a proxy for both Google and the other Android vendors and
better protected than most," said analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle
Group.
"I think this will force a reset on Android products as they are
reengineered to get around Apple's patents."
The jury decided the case with over 700 separate claims in less than
three days of deliberations.
In one minor snag, the judge sent them back Friday after discovering
they had made damage awards for two devices not found to have
infringed, and the jurors then revised the award, which had been
$1.051 billion, reports said.
The verdict affects patents on a range of Samsung products including
some of its popular Galaxy smartphones and its Galaxy 10 tablet -
devices alleged to have been copied from the iPhone and iPad.
But some devices are not affected, including the flagship Galaxy III S
recently released, although they could be targeted in separate
litigation.
Technology analyst Jeff Kagan said of the verdict: "This is a great
day for Apple. And it will turn into a very expensive day for
Samsung."
Kagan said it was not immediately clear if Samsung would be able to
continue to use the technology and pay Apple for the right to do so,
or if they must pull their devices and redesign them.
In any case, the verdict in the case - one of several pending in
global courts - is likely to have massive repercussions in the hottest
part of the technology sector, smartphones and tablets.
Even a delay in sales could endanger Samsung's position in the US
market, where it is currently the top seller of smartphones.
A survey by research firm IDC showed Samsung shipped 50.2 million
smartphones globally in the April-June period, while Apple sold 26
million iPhones. IDC said Samsung held 32.6 percent of the market to
16.9 percent for Apple.
Samsung had steadfastly denied the charges by Apple, claiming it
developed its devices independently, and countersued in the case,
seeking more than $400 million for infringement on its wireless
patents.
The verdict came the same day a South Korean court ruled Apple and
Samsung infringed on each other's patents on mobile devices, awarding
damages to both technology giants and imposing a partial ban on
product sales in South Korea.
The court banned sales in South Korea of Apple's iPhone 4 and iPad 2,
as well as Samsung's Galaxy S and Galaxy SII among other products.
Tags: Apple, Apple vs Samsung, Legal Battles, Patent Wars, Samsung
source:http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/apple-wins-1-billion-in-patent-case-against-samsung-258956
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