Samsung is tipped to appeal a US nine jury decision that resulted in Apple being awarded damages of $1.05 billion, however a US judge could triple these awards.The early morning Saturday decision is a less than half the $2.5 billion that Apple asked the court for earlier this month.
The jury ruled that Samsung infringed all but one of the seven patents at issue in the case. A claim that Samsung had infringed the design of the iPad was dismissed. It was also ruled that Apple didn’t violate any of five patents owned by Samsung.
The damages award of $1.05B is the largest intellectual-property awards on record.
“Today’s verdict should not be viewed as a win for Apple, but as a loss for the American consumer,” Samsung said. “It will lead to fewer choices, less innovation, and potentially higher prices.”
An Apple spokeswoman said “the mountain of evidence presented during the trial showed that Samsung’s copying went far deeper than even we knew.”
The Wall Street Journal said that among other findings, the jury at the U.S. District Court found that many of the Apple patents were willfully infringed by Samsung. That means that Judge Lucy Koh now has the discretion to triple Apple’s damages award, said Brian Love, assistant professor at Santa Clara University School of Law, who has been tracking the case. “This is a huge, crushing win for Apple,” he said.
