What the Apple-Samsung verdict means to you

26.08.2012
In one sense, isnt that momentous. The damagesa bit north of $1 billionare less than half of what Apple originally sought.

And that award isnt going to ruin Samsung: The Korean manufacturing giant made a profit of $4.5 billion in the most recent June quarter, 63 percent of which came from its mobile business. So the jury award amounts to about half of one quarters mobile profit for the company. (Of course, the financial hit could wind up being bigger for Samsung: The judge has the option to triple the damages awarded to Apple.)

Furthermore, of the products that the jury found violated Apples patents, only the and the are still being sold. Other devices in Samsungs current product line should be safe, thanks to design shifts Samsung made following the Galaxy S II.

Those shifts were most likely defensive, made to protect Samsung against lawsuits like this one, which Apple filed in April 2011. Many of the infringements that the jury cited in Fridays verdict centered on elements of the TouchWiz user-interface that for the most part are no longer used.

Fridays ruling may not be the last word on the matter, as Samsung can appeal the case. But even if the immediate impacts arent that dramatic, the long-term consequences could be.