Apple Inc has won over $1 billion in damages in a patent war against Samsung, with a US jury ruling that the South Korean major copied features of the American technology giant’s iPhone and iPad.
A San Jose, California jury Friday found Samsung in violation of three Apple patents: the
pinch gesture to zoom in and out, the overall rounded-off corners in the design and the screen’s bounce-back ability.
The nine jurors took just three days to answer about 700 questions about originality raised by both sides.
Samsung lawyers argued that many of the innovations claimed as original by Apple were copies of Sony and other commonly available features, but failed to convince the jury. The company said it would contest the verdict.
Apple’s victory could be a big blow to Google, whose Android software powers the Samsung products found to infringe on Apple patents.
“We make products to delight our customers, not for competitors to flagrantly copy,” said Apple spokesperson Katie Cotton.
Apple’s iPhones are a poor third in the Indian smartphone market, behind RIM’s BlackBerry and Samsung, according to a 2011 study by Framingham, a Massachusetts researcher.
But BlackBerry is fast losing any advantage it ever had worldwide, ceding the market largely to Apple and Samsung.