What the US Smartphone Rulings Means

A cynic might say that what the US smartphone ruling means, is that juries think differently in America. Over the past year there have been several such cases between Samsung and Apple.

None have awarded Apple such a clear victory, with one billion dollars in damages handed over, and the possibility of further claims on the horizon. In some other counties the case was dismissed by judges who ruled that Apple’s demands were unreasonable, while in other countries, such as South Korea, a court case found both companies at fault.

In Germany they went as far as banning a new Samsung pad device, but this was retracted once Samsung changed the design to make it less rectangular (that’s the level of the argument between the companies).

What Does this Mean for the Future?

So what does all of this mean for the future? Firstly, it’s worth pointing out that Apple’s win, while symbolic, is hardly the win they were hoping for. Their claim was for two and a half billion dollars of lost revenue as a result of the ‘confusion’ Samsung had created with their brand image and similarities in devices.

To get less than half of that means it’s not a major slap on the wrist for Samsung, even if it sounds like big money. Also, while Apple succeeded in convincing the court that Samsung had infringed on patents for three utility and three design features, they critically failed to win out with Design Patent 504,889.

Can You Seriously Protect Intellectual Property for a Rectangle?

This patent was critical to the case for several reasons. The patent shows nine pictures of a rectangular device with rounded edges. After hearing testimonies from many witnesses, including competitors of both companies, the court concluded that Apple couldn’t reasonably expect to protect the intellectual property of a rectangle from competitors.

Apple see the shape of their phones and pads as critical to their brand appeal, so to not win out is a major failure for them. It’s also bad news because Apple requested an injunction on Samsung Nexus devices in the USA based on this patent, on that condition that they would pay a 93 million dollar bond to Samsung if they lost the argument. In addition Samsung will be able to claim damages from lost sales.

The Battle Continues

Here we get to the main result of these court cases: more court cases. The issues surrounding these devices haven’t been resolved. One billion dollars is a drop in the ocean for Samsung compared to what they’re making on continued sales of the same devices that supposedly breached patent.

Apple is moving to ban these sales in a case starting December, and they’re also bringing charges against several new devices. In return Samsung are appealing the original ruling on multiple grounds. There’s basically no end in sight while courts continue to take on these cases.

James Forrester

About the Guest Author:

This post was provided by James Forrester from Vesk Virtual Desktops - a UK company that specialises in hosted virtual desktops.