A spokeswoman for Apple Inc. said Friday's award by a federal jury in San Jose of $1.05 billion from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. for patent infringement sends "a loud and clear message that stealing isn't right."
Spokeswoman Katie Cotton said, "We make these products to delight our customers, not for our competitors to flagrantly copy."
"The mountain of evidence presented during the trail showed that Samsung’s copying went far deeper than even we knew. The lawsuits between Apple and Samsung were about much more than patents or money. They were about values. At Apple, we value originality and innovation and pour our lives into making the best products on earth. We make these products to delight our customers, not for our competitors to flagrantly copy. We applaud the court for finding Samsung’s behavior willful and for sending a loud and clear message that stealing isn’t right," Cotton said in a statement.
Samsung issued a statement saying, "This is not the final word in this case," and said it will challenge the verdict in post-trial motions and then in an appeal if necessary.
"Today’s verdict should not be viewed as a win for Apple, but as a loss for the American consumer. It will lead to fewer choices, less innovation, and potentially higher prices. 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. Consumers have the right to choices, and they know what they are buying when they purchase Samsung products. This is not the final word in this case or in battles being waged in courts and tribunals around the world, some of which have already rejected many of Apple’s claims. Samsung will continue to innovate and offer choices for the consumer," the company's statement read.
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The nine-member civil jury in the court of U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh found that Samsung's smartphones and tablets infringed on six of seven patents for which Cupertino-based Apple had claimed violations.
U.S. & World
The jury also rejected Samsung's counterclaims that Apple's iPhones and iPads violated five of the South Korea-based Samsung's own patents.
The verdict came after three weeks of trial and three days of jury deliberations. In a 20-page verdict that answered dozens of questions posed to them, the jurors found that many but not all of the individual Samsung devices challenged by Apple violated the six patents.
It assessed the financial damages at $1.05 billion.
For its part, Apple said it will ask Koh to issue a preliminary injunction restricting the sales of some of the devices found to infringe its patents.
Koh initially set a Sept. 20 date for a hearing on Samsung's and Apple's motions, but in an order later this evening said she may postpone that hearing.
She ordered Apple to file by Aug. 27 a one-page chart identifying the Samsung products for which it is seeking a preliminary injunction. Koh said she will schedule the hearing after reviewing the scope of Apple's preliminary injunction request.
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