Last Friday, a US jury gave Apple a decisive win in its legal battle against Samsung Electronics. The court awarded Apple more than $1 billion in damages after it ruled that the Korean electronic device manufacturer infringed on several of its patents.
The verdict was delivered in a San Jose, California courtroom Friday. The ruling stated that Samsung infringed Apple’s patents for its scroll, multitouch, zoom, and navigation features as well as the design patents for the icons and cases. The jury said that the South Korean electronics company willfully infringed on at least three of Apple’s patents.
But not everything went in favor of Apple. The jury ruled in favor of Samsung regarding its patent on bounce back, which Apple infringed upon.
The verdict came after the jury deliberated for three days. Attorneys for both parties presented closing arguments Tuesday after four weeks in court. The ruling ended the legal battle that started in April of 2011 when Apple filed a lawsuit against Samsung that claimed the company infringed on various technology and design patents. Apple followed the initial filing with another lawsuit in July and Samsung countersued.
The two electronic giants have been in legal battles in various countries, such as the UK, Germany and Australia. The verdict could also mean tough battles for Taiwan’s HTC Corp., which has a similar case against Apple. Its initial ruling is set on November 7. It could reduce the market visibility of Android phones or increase the cost of using the Android OS due to license fee payments.
