The verdict is finally in... After months of legal sparring across multiple nations, Apple throws a final sucker punch and leaves Samsung reeling as it convinces a US jury its Korean rival is guilty of all accusations of design infringement.
And what a sucker punch-- the San Jose court rules Samsung has to give the biggest company in the world (by market value) no less than $1.05 billion in damages, not to mention the possibility of outright bans of key Samsung devices in the US.
The US court also waves the Samsung countersuit away, deciding Samsung will not get any damages. According to the Wall Street Journal, the jury of 9 deliberated for only 21 hours announcing the verdict.
The Apple sparring strategy was relatively simple, but effective-- blow after blow of what it suggested was chronological evidence of Samsung copying the iPhone, complete with pictorial comparisons and internal Samsung emails.
On the other hand the Samsung proved to be ineffective when it comes to footwork, despite insisting Apple cannot claim ownership to a design that amounts to a rectangle with rounded corners, or a UI consisting of square icons. Time constraints also forced Samsung to forgo cross-examination of some Apple witnesses.
What does the win mean for the industry? First off it cements Apple's domination over the market, setting immediate issues for the Android-based smartphone and tablet competition. One can see it as a step towards the "thermonuclear war" against Google the late Steve Jobs promised in his biography.
It will also lead to more and more fighting. As Mark Cuban succinctly puts it in a tweet, "Thx Apple it's now mandatory for tech companies to sue each other. Prices go up, competition & innovation suffer."
Should Apple and Android(s) continue tearing each other apart, an unlikely duo might gain an advantage-- Microsoft and Nokia. The latest Windows Phone version is different enough from iOS, not to mention Microsoft has an "anti-cloning agreement" with Apple. Meanwhile Nokia has a history unique device design... and a decent-sized patent armoury should push come to shove.
Even underdog among underdogs RIM might manage to get some scraps as fighting goes on.
Interestingly enough, while the Samsung mobile business was receiving a pounding from Apple, the component business was busy playing nice... with Apple. Reuters reports the "strict internal firewall" between the 2 businesses remains intact, and Samsung will continue supplying iPhone and iPad processors, memory and flat panels.
According to Samsung lead counsel Charles Verhoeven 26% of iPhone component costs go straight to Samsung. Talk about (much less than) 7 degrees of separation, eh?
Go Apple Triumphs over Samsung in Landmark Patent Case (Reuters)
Go Inside the Apple-Samsung Jury Room (WSJ.com, subscription required)
Go Friend and Foe; Samsung, Apple Won't Want to Damage Parts Deal (Reuters)
