A jury in California delivered its verdict in
a federal court in San Jose on Friday in the
latest lawsuit involving the two tech giants.
During the month-long
trial, Apple accused Samsung of violating
patents on smartphone features.The court also ruled that Apple infringed Samsung’s patents
and awarded $158,000 in damages.Apple had sought $2.2bn after accusing Samsung of infringing five of its patents covering functions such as the “slide to
unlock” from its devices.Samsung denied any
wrongdoing and sought $6m after arguing Apple had infringed two of its
smartphone patents related to camera use and video transmission. “Though this verdict is large by normal standards, it is hard to
view this outcome as much of a victory for Apple,” said Brian Love, a Santa Clara
University law professor. “This amount is less
than 10% of the amount Apple requested and probably doesn’t surpass by too much
the amount Apple spent litigating this
case.”This verdict marks the latest legal battle over intellectual property between the world’s top two smartphone
makers.Apple and Samsung
have been fighting patent battles for years and across many countries.Two years ago, a
separate jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple $930m after finding it had used Apple technology. That verdict is still being challenged by Samsung.
