Apple has emerged from its latest courtroom stoush with tech rival Samsung with what many observers are calling a hollow victory.
The verdict from the month-long case was handed down on Friday, with the jury ordering Samsung Electronics pay $US119.6 million ($A129m) to Apple for infringing two of Apple’s smartphone technology patents.
Tech analysts have noted this is significantly less than Apple had sought and far below the $US450.5 billion it was awarded in a similar patent infringement case in March 2013, as reported by SmartCompany.
The most recent case revolved around Apple’s allegations that Samsung had stolen elements of its smartphone function and design, including the universal search feature.
The jury found the South Korean smartphone maker had infringed two Apple patents.
Samsung contended during the trial that Apple had exaggerated the importance of its patented iPhone features, while Apple said the South Korean company was only able to compete in the market because it had effectively copied key features of the iPhone.
In response to a counterclaim for patent infringement by Samsung against Apple, the jury found Apple had infringed on one of the Korean company’s own patents.
Samsung, which asserted a $US6 million damages claim, was awarded $US158,400.
The assistant professor at the Santa Clara University School of Law, Brian Love, told Reuters the case could barely be qualified as a victory for Apple, which is battling Samsung for control of the smartphone market across the globe, but especially in the US.
“Though this verdict is large by normal standards, it is hard to view this outcome as much of a victory for Apple. This amount is less than 10 percent of the amount Apple requested, and probably doesn’t surpass by too much the amount Apple spent litigating this case,” Love said.
“Apple launched this litigation campaign years ago with aspirations of slowing the meteoric rise of Android phone manufacturers. It has so far failed to do so, and this case won’t get it any closer.”
