Samsung/Apple verdict reached–Good for Windows Phone, has the potential to change the industry
August 24, 2012 | By Surur
wmpoweruser.com
Much faster than expected, the jury has reached a decision in the trial that has mostly been about Apple vs Samsung, with Samsung putting up a pretty unconvincing defence.
The jury has found that Samsung infringed Apple’s patents for much of their smartphones and also Galaxy Tab.
The list includes the Continuum, Droid Charge, Exhibit 4G, Galaxy Ace, Prevail, S 4G, S II, Galaxy Tab, The Gem, Indulge, Infuse 4G, Mesmerize, Nexus S 4G, Replenish and Vibrant.
The patents appear mostly to be design patents so far, such as bounce back, rubber band and double tap zoom.
The jury also found that in most cases Samsung wilfully infringed Apple’s patents. In return the jury has awarded Apple $1.051855 billion dollars in damages, which should sting Samsung slightly. In addition the jury found Apple did not infringe on any of Samsung’s utility patents, meaning Apple owned Samsung no damages at all.
The jury found Samsung violated antitrust law by monopolizing markets related to the UMTS standard, which effectively removes much of the weaponry held by companies such as Motorola with FRAND patents.
The other implications are however more interesting.
The verdict has to potential of pushing the industry to more differentiated designs and operating systems like Windows Phone, which can only be good for our favourite OS.
Apple famously held up the Nokia Lumia 800 as a device which did not infringe on either their design or OS patents.
Additionally it has also been revealed that Microsoft has a cross-licensing agreement with Apple, which makes it the only operating system which is safe from being pursued by Apple, with any other mobile operating system, from pure Android to Meego to Firefox OS potentially at risk.
We will update this article with more info as it becomes available |
