Samsung to pay Apple $1 billion? Not so fast.
In the wake of the verdict, Apple is promising to seek an injunction against at least eight Samsung phones. But Samsung says it will battle back.
In the wake of the verdict, Apple is promising to seek an injunction against at least eight Samsung phones. But Samsung says it will battle back.
On Friday, a jury in California ruled that Samsung had infringed on a range of Apple patents, and ordered the Korean company to pay Apple more than $1 billion in damages. The verdict, in the聽words聽of one onlooker,聽was a "major win" for Apple, which is now seeking an injunction against at least eight Samsung handsets that use the affected patents. It's a major mess for Samsung.聽
But in a message to employees today, Samsung vowed it would not let the ruling stand.聽
"History has shown there has yet to be a company that has won the hearts and minds of consumers and achieved continuous growth, when its primary means to competition has been the outright abuse of patent law, not the pursuit of innovation," the memo read, according to CNET.聽"We trust that the consumers and the market will side with those who prioritize innovation over litigation, and we will prove this beyond doubt."聽
A longshot? Well, not necessarily.
As CNN points out, plenty of legal experts expect the verdict to be overturned. "This story is far from over," writes聽Duke law professor Mark Webbink, who has wondered if the jury didn't perform a bit of a rush job.聽
"[O]ne of the plays you'll see next will likely be a聽Rule 50(b) motion聽by Samsung, and that's the one where you ask the judge for various relief on the basis that no reasonable jury could find what it did find on the evidence presented," Webbink added.聽
That kind of legal wrangling, of course, could take years. In the meantime, we're likely to see some more immediate effects on the tech industry at large. Among them: fewer tablets and smartphones that look like Apple iPads and Apple iPhones. Here's a portion of a BGR interview with聽Christopher Carani, the聽chairman of the American Bar Association鈥檚 design rights committee:聽
Read the interview in full here.聽And for more on how technology intersects daily life, follow us on聽Twitter @venturenaut.