Samsung found guilty in patent lawsuit, must pay Apple $119 million in damages
Well, that was fast. After kicking off only a few weeks ago, it a decision has been made in the Apple vs Samsung patent lawsuit (2014 edition). According to the jury of 8 — who deliberated a full 3 days before coming to their decision — Samsung has been found guilty of violating a handful of Apple patents (again), and is being ordered to pay up to the tune of $119,625,000 in damages. It’s a lot less than the $2 billion Apple originally wanted, and it’s sure to put a little sting in Samsung’s wallet.
But it didn’t all end in Apple’s favor. The ruling also showed Apple guilty of violating a Samsung patent relating to photo and gallery software features, resulting in a payout of $158,00. Peanuts for Apple, but at least they didn’t get away with highway robbery.
Of Apple’s 5 patents they felt would bring them the win, only 2 were found in violation for the most part: Apple’s ‘647 and ‘721 patents dealing with the way the OS turns phone numbers and email addresses into clickable links, and of course, Apple’s world famous “slide-to-unlock” patent.
Samsung, who didn’t actually build the core OS found guilty of “borrowing” some of Apple’s features, says Apple is merely trying to threaten Android OEMs through litigation. So far, it’s a tactic that seems to have been working well for them.