The world’s biggest patent dispute that began in April 2011 has finally drawn to a close after Apple won a decisive victory on Friday.
The nine jurors came to a verdict after just 3 days at a federal courthouse in San Jose. They ruled that Apple be awarded in excess of $1 billion in damages after finding Samsung guilty of wilfully infringing Apple’s patents in the creation of its own mobile devices.
Samsung’s counter-claim that Apple violated some of their patents was unsuccessful. The jury recommend that no damages be paid to Samsung.
The jury took into consideration 33 questions which offered around 700 options, but it only boiled down to two; Were Apple’s patents infringed? If so, how much are they owed?
After the trial, juror Manuel Ilagan said, “The decision came down to the evidence Apple presented. It was clear infringement.”
He said “there was an abundance of evidence to find so heavily in favour of Apple, while dismissing all of Samsung’s counter-claims at the same time.”
What this means for your smartphone
Apple may well request an injunction against the Samsung devices that infringed their patents, which would result in Samsung being forced to pull them off the market until they’re changed.
Don’t worry if you already own a Samsung device though. No one can pry the phone out of your hands. At worst, your phone may receive a software update that changes how it looks and works. It is however your choice what software you put on the handset.
