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Verdict: Jury Decides Samsung Copied Apple Design

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After a year of scorched-earth litigation, a jury decided Friday that Samsung ripped off the innovative technology used by Apple to create its revolutionary iPhone and iPad.

The jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple $1.05 billion. An appeal is expected.

Apple Inc. filed its patent infringement lawsuit in April 2011 and engaged legions of the country’s highest-paid patent lawyers to demand $2.5 billion from its top smartphone competitor. Samsung Electronics Co. fired back with its own lawsuit seeking $399 million.

But the day belonged to Apple as the jury rejected all Samsung’s claim against Apple. The jury did reject some of Apple’s claims against the two dozen Samsung devices at issue, declining to award the $2.5 billion Apple demanded.

However, the jury found that several of Samsung’s products illegally used such Apple creations as the “bounce-back” feature and the ability to zoom text with a finger tap.

During closing arguments, Apple attorney Harold McElhinny claimed Samsung was having a “crisis of design” after the 2007 launch of the iPhone, and executives with the South Korean company were determined to illegally cash in on the success of the revolutionary device.

Samsung’s lawyers countered that it was simply and legally giving consumers what they want: Smart phones with big screens. They said Samsung didn’t violate any of Apple’s patents and further alleged innovations claimed by Apple were actually created by other companies.

Samsung has emerged as one of Apple’s biggest rivals and has overtaken Apple as the leading smartphone maker.

Samsung’s Galaxy line of phones run on Android, a mobile operating system that Google Inc. has given out for free to Samsung and other phone makers.

Samsung conceded that Apple makes great products but said it doesn’t have a monopoly on the design of rectangle phones with rounded corners…

Read more: AJC

Read more: AJC

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