Apple seeks Samsung ban after $1 billion dollar win

After being awarded $1.05 billion (around £665 billion) in its successful patent case, Apple now wants the courts to ban eight Samsung phones from the US market as it fights for domination over the valuable smartphone market.

The eight phones Apple wants banned are the Galaxy S 4G, Galaxy S2 AT&T model, Galaxy S2 Skyrocket, Galaxy S2 T-Mobile model, Galaxy S2 Epic 4G, Galaxy S Showcase, Droid Charge and Galaxy Prevail.

For Samsung, it’s been a period of ups and downs. On the morning of Friday 24th August, a judge in South Korea ruled that Samsung and Apple copied each other, but crucially that Samsung hadn’t copied Apple’s designs.

This verdict wasn’t to be repeated on Friday evening in the similar US case, where the jury ruled completely in favour of Apple, refusing to award any damages to Samsung for its own counter-case.

In its deliberations the nine-person jury found that some Samsung handsets infringed Apple’s design patents for its iPhone, including how it displays icons and text; all of Samsung’s handsets in the trial had copied the bounce-back feature, which shows when you’ve scrolled to the end of content; and some Samsung handsets copied Apple’s feature for zooming into text with a tap of a finger.

From Apple’s point-of-view, the ruling is a massive success that vindicates what it is doing.

“We are grateful to the jury for their service and for investing the time to listen to our story and we were thrilled to be able to finally tell it,” read Apple’s official statement. “The mountain of evidence presented during the trial 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.”

Samsung, as you can imagine, didn’t just see the result as a loss for itself, but a loss for consumers in general and the stifling of competition.

“The 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,” read Samsung’s statement. “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.”

Apple’s win paves the way for future court cases against other manufacturers. As some of the damages awarded were for features in Android, rather than developed by Samsung, it could also up Google to its own legal battles.

With Samsung set to launch an appeal against the decision, the one thing that’s clear is that the legal battles are likely to rage for years to come.