There's been quite a bit of news coming out of the trial between Apple and Samsung in California in recent weeks, but the biggest news of all emerged, as the jury has come to a verdict. While all of the verdicts are still being read, the jury has ruled that Samsung infringed upon several of Apple's patents with multiple devices. For example, the jury decided that Samsung violated Apple's '381 bounce back scrolling patent with all devices involved. Samsung was also found to have infringed upon Apple's '915 patent, which relates to scrolling with one finger and performing gestures with two fingers, on all devices involved save for the Galaxy Ace, Intercept and Replenish. Apple's '163 tap-to-zoom patent was also violated by Samsung on several devices, said the jury, though ones like the Captivate and Vibrant were cleared.
It's also worth noting that the jury ruled that Samsung's Korean division forced its U.S. arm to infringe on the aforementioned patents, with all devices included in the bounce back patent and then several products included in the other two. The jury went on to rule that not only did Samsung intentionally infringe upon Apple's patents, it was unsuccessful in its attempts to invalidate them.
When it comes to hardware and Apple's design patents, the jury once again found that Samsung had infringed patents. Several of Samsung's various smartphones were found to infringe Apple's patents, including the Galaxy S, S II and Vibrant. Samsung fared better when it came to tablets, as the jury decided that neither the Wi-Fi-only nor the LTE variants of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 infringed upon Apple's iPad design patents. When it comes to the decision of whether or not Samsung knew it was infringing, the jury ruled that it did know in all cases that Samsung was found to be violating. In all, the jury awarded Apple $1.05 billion in damages.
Flipping things around, the jury also came to a verdict on whether or not Apple violated patents held by Samsung. Unfortunately for Samsung, the jury ruled that Apple did not violate any of the patents that Samsung brought to the trial, though Apple was unable to prove any of Samsung's patents to be invalid. The jury awarded Samsung nothing in damages.
As with most of the other tech-related lawsuits that we've watched, just because the jury issued its decisions today doesn't mean that this skirmish between Apple and Samsung is over, as we'll likely see an appeal or two come out of it. Today's verdict went pretty heavily in Apple's favor, though with Samsung's place among manufacturers, the company shouldn't have a problem coming up with the cash to cover the damages. What will be interesting is seeing how manufacturers react to today's decisions with both their software and hardware.
UPDATE: Samsung has issued a statement on today's verdict to All Things D, describing it as "a loss for the American consumer" that'll "lead to fewer choices, less innovation, and potentially higher prices." The company has pledged that this isn't the final word in this battle and that it'll "continue to innovate and offer choices for the consumer." Samsung's full statement is as follows:
"“Today’s verdict should not be viewed as a win for Apple, but as a loss for the American consumer. It will lead to fewer choices, less innovation, and potentially higher prices. 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. Consumers have the right to choices, and they know what they are buying when they purchase Samsung products. This is not the final word in this case or in battles being waged in courts and tribunals around the world, some of which have already rejected many of Apple’s claims. Samsung will continue to innovate and offer choices for the consumer.”
UPDATE 2: After some inconsistencies with the jury's verdict were ironed out, The Verge reports the total damages owed to Apple has been lowered slightly to $1.049 billion. Judge Lucy Koh has also set an injunction hearing for September 20. Finally, Apple issued its own response to tonight's ruling to The Loop, saying that its "grateful" for the jury's service and that it applauds the court "for sending a loud and clear message that stealing isn’t right.” Apple's full statement is as follows:
“We are grateful to the jury for their service and for investing the time to listen to our story and we were thrilled to be able to finally tell it. The mountain of evidence presented during the trial showed that Samsung’s copying went far deeper than even we knew. The lawsuits between Apple and Samsung were about much more than patents or money. They were about values. At Apple, we value originality and innovation and pour our lives into making the best products on earth. We make these products to delight our customers, not for our competitors to flagrantly copy. We applaud the court for finding Samsung’s behavior willful and for sending a loud and clear message that stealing isn’t right.”
Via The Verge (1), (2), (3), Wall Street Journal (1), (2), All Things D, The Loop
