Apple Inc. (AAPL) won more than $1 billion after a jury found Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) infringed six of seven patents for its mobile devices in a verdict that may lead to a ban on U.S. sales of handheld electronics a judge deems to violate Apple’s rights.
Apple won less than half of what it sought in damages in the first lawsuit to go before a U.S. jury in the fight to dominate the global smartphone market, though U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh may later triple the damages against Samsung under federal law. Samsung avoided a finding of damages for antitrust law violations or breach of contract.
Koh, who presided over the four-week trial, scheduled a hearing next month to consider Apple’s request to make permanent a ban on U.S. sales of Samsung devices including its Galaxy Tab 10.1 computer, as well as to extend the ban to other Samsung products. Jurors in federal court in San Jose, California, found after just three days of deliberations that Samsung infringed three software patents related to its tablet computer and two of those related to Samsung’s Nexus smartphone.
“This is a huge victory for Apple,” Mark Lemley, a Stanford Law School professor, said in an e-mail. “The verdict is just large enough to be the largest surviving patent verdict in history.”
“Even more important is the injunction Judge Koh is likely to issue,” Lemley said after yesterday’s verdict. “The real question is whether this is enough to derail the momentum the Android ecosystem has gained in the marketplace.”
Samsung Counterclaims
The nine-member jury rejected Samsung’s patent counterclaims against Apple and its request for damages. The jury also determined that all of Apple’s patents at stake in the trial were valid. Apple also won findings that Samsung devices infringe its trade dress, or how a product looks.
Samsung will ask the judge to overturn the verdict and, if she doesn’t, will appeal the case, said Mira Jang, a spokeswoman for Samsung, in an e-mail.
The “verdict should not be viewed as a win for Apple, but as a loss for the American consumer,” Samsung said in a separate e-mailed statement. “It is unfortunate that patent law can be manipulated to give one company a monopoly over rectangles with rounded corners, or technology that is being improved every day by Samsung and other companies.”
Samsung said the verdict wasn’t the “final word” in the case or in courts and tribunals around the world.
Largest Verdict
The verdict is the largest jury award of the year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The verdict is the fourth-largest jury award in a patent case in U.S. history.
Koh set a hearing for Sept. 20 on Apple’s request for an injunction barring U.S. sales of Samsung products. She ordered Apple to file a one-page chart by Aug. 27 identifying which devices it seeks to ban. Depending on the extent of Apple’s request, Koh said she may change the briefing and hearing schedule.
Apple, based in Cupertino, California, sued Samsung in April 2011, and Samsung countersued as part of a battle being waged on four continents over a smartphone market valued at $219.1 billion according to Bloomberg Industries. The companies have also sued each other in the U.K., Australia and South Korea.
600 Questions
The jury addressed more than 600 questions in its verdict. Apple sought $2.5 billion to $2.75 billion for its claims that Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung infringed four design patents and three software patents in copying the iPhone and iPad. Samsung’s demand for as much as $421.8 million in royalties was based on claims that Apple infringed five patents.
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