Jury Awards $1 Billion to Apple in Samsung Patent Case
By NICK WINGFIELD August 24, 2012
Apple won a decisive victory on Friday in a lawsuit against Samsung, a verdict that will give Apple ammunition in a far-flung patent war with its global competitors in the smartphone business.
The nine jurors in the case, who faced the daunting task of answering more than 700 questions on sometimes highly technical matters, returned a verdict after just three days of deliberations at a federal courthouse in San Jose, Calif. They found that Samsung infringed on a series of Apple's patents on mobile devices, awarding Apple more than $1 billion in damages.
That is not a big financial blow to Samsung, one of the world's largest electronics companies. But the decision could essentially force it and other smartphone makers to redesign their products to be less Apple-like, or risk further legal defeats.
Consumers could end up with some welcome diversity in phone and tablet design - or they may be stuck with devices that manufacturers have clumsily revamped to avoid crossing Apple.
Samsung said it would ask the court to overturn the verdict and, if that is unsuccessful, appeal to a higher court.
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