Samsung to appeal after $1bn Apple award in US case

Apple and Samsung make the bestselling smartphones in the market

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Samsung says it will appeal against a US court ruling that the South Korean giant stole designs from Apple to make smartphones and computer tablets.

The jury in San Jose, California ordered Samsung to pay Apple $1.05bn (£665m) in damages.

In response, Samsung accused Apple of using US patent laws to try to dominate the smartphone market.

Analysts say the ruling is one of the most significant in a global battle over intellectual property.

In recent weeks, a court in South Korea ruled that both technology firms had copied each other, while a British court threw out claims by the US company that Samsung had infringed its copyright.

But the year-long US case has involved some of the biggest damages claims.

'Monopoly'

Samsung described Friday's decision as "a loss for the American consumer".

"It will lead to fewer choices, less innovation, and potentially higher prices," the firm said.

The statement added that it was "unfortunate that patent law can be manipulated to give one company a monopoly over rectangles with rounded corners".

Product designer Geoff McCormick strips down an iPhone to explain patents

Apple, however, said it applauded the court "for finding Samsung's behaviour wilful and for sending a loud and clear message that stealing isn't right".

It said it intended to seek injunctions to block US sales of Samsung products at a follow-up hearing on 20 September

The two firms account for more than half of global smartphone and tablet computer sales.

The nine-person jury at the federal court in San Jose, California had to consider 700 questions about each side's claim that its rival had infringed its intellectual property.

It deliberated for less than three days before coming to a unanimous decision, rejecting all of Samsung's claims and upholding five of Apple's allegations, including:

• Some of Samsung's handsets, including its Galaxy S 4G model, infringed Apple's design patents for the look of its iPhone including the system it uses to display text and icons
• All the disputed Samsung devices had copied Apple's "bounce-back response", which makes lists jump back as if yanked by a rubber band
• Several Samsung devices incorporated Apple's facility allowing users to zoom into text with a tap of a finger

Apple had wanted $2.5bn in damages. Samsung had sought $519m.

It may also seek to use this ruling to block other devices powered by Google's Android software that it believes replicate elements of its user-interface, including current models by Samsung as well as other firms.

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Samsung fights back in Apple patent battle

Samsung has gone on the offensive in its court battle with Apple, accusing its rival of infringing patents related to emailing photographs and 3G wireless technology.

Samsung was accused of ripping off Apple for its Galaxy range Photo: Reuters

By Reuters

A Silicon Valley court gave was the Korean giant its turn to throw mud in a high-stakes trial that has gripped the industry.

Dr Woodward Yang, an electrical engineering professor at Harvard, said Apple's products use Samsung-patented features for mobile devices, including the process for seamlessly emailing photos. He was one of Samsung's first witnesses after a parade of Apple experts said Samsung phones and tablets violated Apple's patents.

One of Samsung's designers also testified that she did not rely on Apple designs to create icons for Samsung's Galaxy S smartphone line.

Apple and Samsung are going toe-to-toe in a patents dispute mirroring a struggle for industry supremacy between two rivals that control more than half of worldwide smartphone sales.

The American company accuses Samsung of copying the design and some features of its iPad and iPhone, and is asking for a sales ban in addition to monetary damages. The Korean company, which is trying to expand in the United States, says Apple infringed several patents, including some for its key wireless technology.

Apple concluded presenting evidence regarding its own patents this week, and Samsung started calling witnesses. On Tuesday, Yang said Samsung's patents were filed before the introduction of the iPhone in 2007.

Yang focused on patents that cover smartphone features, not wireless technology. One of those patents covers technology for easily finding photos in an album.

"The idea here was, let's have a bookmark," Yang said.

Under questioning from Apple attorney Bill Lee, Yang acknowledged he had not seen evidence that Samsung actually used any of those features in its own smartphones.

Later on Tuesday, Samsung called designer Jeeyuen Wang, who said she and a large Korean team worked hard for three months to create Samsung's own icon designs for Galaxy S phones.

"I slept perhaps two hours, or three hours a night," Wang said.

Apple attorney Michael Jacobs showed Wang internal Samsung documents - with her name on them - containing references to Apple icons. However, under questioning from Samsung attorney John Quinn, Wang said some of those documents were created well after Samsung had finished its own designs.

In an attempt to invalidate some of Apple's patents in the case, Samsung also presented evidence this week to show that Apple's patents cover technological advances - like multitouch - that had already been developed before Apple claims to have invented it.

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Samsung takes on Apple over value of phone features

By Dan Levine

(Reuters) - An Apple Inc expert witness testified on Friday that consumers would be willing to pay $100 for three patented smartphone features that are at issue in its high stakes trial against Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.

John Hauser, a marketing professor at MIT, said he surveyed consumers over the Internet about how much they would pay for some of the technology in the lawsuit, like scrolling and multitouch, which Apple claims Samsung stole from the U.S. company.

However, Samsung hammered Hauser on whether his study actually relates to real world customer decision-making.

Additionally, Apple patent portfolio director Boris Teksler described the company's licensing strategy, saying he could count "on one hand" the number of instances it has permitted other companies to use its design patents. Teksler did not name those companies.

Apple and Samsung are going toe-to-toe in a patents dispute mirroring a struggle for industry supremacy between two rivals that control more than half of worldwide smartphone sales.

The U.S. company accuses Samsung of copying the design and some features of its iPad and iPhone, and is asking for a sales ban in addition to monetary damages. The Korean company, which is trying to expand in the United States, says Apple infringed some of its key wireless technology patents.

As the second week of trial drew to a close in a San Jose, California federal court, most of the testimony focused on technical patent features.

However, toward the end of the day Hauser said tablet consumers would be willing to pay $90 for the same patented features as what they would pay $100 for on smartphones. That information could be relevant when calculating potential damages for Apple, which is seeking over $2.5 billion from Samsung.

Samsung attorney William Price asked Hauser why he didn't tell jurors what consumers would pay for features like additional computer memory on different tablet models. Those could be compared to the real world prices that Apple charges, Price said.

While Hauser said he was confident in his methodology, he eventually acknowledged that his results do not necessarily correspond to what customers would actually pay for such technology in the real world.

"This relates to it but it's not it, no," Hauser said.

Teksler took the stand after Hauser finished. While Apple is open to licensing certain categories of patents, Teksler said, it is highly resistant to giving other companies access to technology it deems core to its "unique user experience."

All of the patents in Apple's lawsuit against Samsung fall into that special category, Teksler said.

After Samsung released its Galaxy S phone in the summer of 2010, Teksler said, former Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs and current CEO Tim Cook, personally contacted Samsung to complain.

Apple is one of Samsung's biggest customers for smartphone and tablet component parts.

"We were quite shocked," Teksler said. "They were a trusted partner."

Teksler is expected to continue testifying on Monday.

The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, is Apple Inc v. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd et al, No. 11-1846.

(Reporting By Dan Levine

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