After less than 22 hours of deliberation, the 9-man jury in the case of Apple Inc. versus Samsung Corporation delivered a verdict overwhelmingly in favor of Apple, citing that Samsung had infringed on all but one of the patents presented in the case. Alternately, the jury found that Apple did not infringe on any of the five patents that surfaced when Samsung countersued Apple. The trial began in April of 2011 and concerned many different types of intellectual property. In fact, this trial was revolutionary in that it combined these types of intellectual property in one case; patents that cover software features, hardware design, and high-speed communication features. Probably the most ambiguous of the matters brought up at trial concerned "trade dress," a claim that Apple owns the overall look and feel of their devices. As a result of the jury's findings, Apple was awarded $1.05 billion in damages. Most significantly, it proved that its patent defense does work, which could lead to a long-term change in the industry (Vascellaro). .
The jury granted all terms in favor of Apple, although they did find that one patent covering the physical design of the iPad had no basis. Samsung lawyers fought heavily to argue that Apple shouldn't be given a monopoly on a rectangle with rounded corners. However, three other patents involving the shape and the onscreen icons did hold up in court. Because of this, future phones will not be able to copy Apple's chic design and minimalist screens (Vascellaro).
During the trial, Apple used 28 Samsung products as evidence that the South Korean company knowingly infringed upon Apple's intellectual properties. In turn, Samsung responded by claiming that the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch models infringed upon five of their patents. In the end, Apple received less than the $2.5 billion in awards they originally sought, but the results stand as one of the highest intellectual property awards on record.
