Telecom Lead Asia: Samsung will contest a US court ruling
that it must pay Apple damages of more than $1 billion for patent violations.
Samsung said the consumer electronics company will move
immediately to file post-verdict motions to overturn this decision in this
court. If Samsung is not successful, it will appeal this decision to the Court
of Appeals.
On Friday, the US jury found the Korean company had copied
critical features of iPhone and iPad and awarded Apple $1.049 billion in
damages.
The verdict could lead to an outright ban on sales of key
Samsung products and will likely solidify Apple’s dominance in the mobile
computing market.
A number of companies that sell smartphones based on
Google’s Android operating system may now face further legal challenges from
Apple.
Apple’s charges that Samsung copied its designs and features
are widely viewed as an attack on Google and its Android software, which drives
Samsung’s devices and has become the most-used mobile software, FirstPost.com
reported.
Earlier on Friday, a South Korean court found that both
companies shared blame, ordering Samsung to stop selling 10 products including
its Galaxy S II phone and banning Apple from selling four different products,
including its iPhone 4.
The win may lead to disturbance in $5 billion-plus supply relationship
between Apple and Samsung. Apple is Samsung’s biggest customer for
microprocessors and other parts central to Apple’s devices.
Guardian
reported that Samsung Electronics can bear the $1.05 billion in damages. In the
second quarter of this year alone its operating profit was $5.86 billion. But
the hit to its reputation is substantial.
Apple can also go after HTC and Motorola, its two smartphone
rivals in the US.
In the US, where its most valuable customers are, Apple
definitely sees the effort as worth going to.
Many Samsung devices are affected by the verdict. According
to Mashable, the devices are: Galaxy S, Galaxy S II, Nexus S,
Mesmerize, Vibrant, Fascinate, Skyrocket, Continuum, Prevail, Infuse, Gem,
Mesmerize, Indulge, Replenish, Epic 4G Touch, Droid Charge and Nexus S
smartphones and the Galaxy Tab and Tab 10.1 tablets.
