Apple scored a legal victory over Samsung on Friday as a U.S. jury found the Korean company had copied critical features of the iPhone and iPad and awarded the U.S. company $1.05 billion in damages.
The jury decided Samsung infringed six out of seven Apple patents in the case, and that Apple had not infringed any of Samsung's patents. Apple's protected technology includes the ability for a mobile device to distinguish one finger on the screen or two, the design of screen icons, and the front surface of the phone.
Here?s Apple?s statement on today?s verdict:
"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."
This is what Samsung had to say:
"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."
The verdict could lead to an outright ban on sales of key Samsung products and iks expected to solidify Apple's dominance of the mobile computing market.
Apple's victory is also big blow to Google, whose Android software powers the Samsung products that were found to infringe on Apple patents. Google, HTC and Motorola could now face further legal hurdles in their effort to compete with the Apple juggernaut.
In a separate case, Apple has won a pre-trial injunction against the Google Nexus tablet. Another lawsuit, against Motorola, was thrown out recently by a federal judge in Chicago, but litigation between the two at the International Trade Commission continues.
Earlier on Friday, a South Korean court found that both companies shared blame for patent infringement, ordering Samsung to stop selling 10 products including its Galaxy S II phone and banning Apple from selling four different products, including its iPhone 4.
Apple's lawyers said they planned to file for an injunction against Samsung products within seven days.