The US Jury’s landmark decision on Apple-Samsung
lawsuit this Friday took a
decisive turn by slapping Samsung 1.05
billion $ fine and providing whatever Apple wished in this latest set of patent
infringement case . A billion dollar + payment
to Apple and the possibility of
injunction against the sales of
infringing Samsung Tablets and Smartphones.
This verdict is one of
the 50 + lawsuits that these two tech
giants are embroiled in 10 countries across the Globe. Impact of this litigation will not
adversely affect Samsung’s burgeoning
Global sales of smartphones as it doesn’t apply
outside US and doesn’t apply to new Samsung devices like Samsung Galaxy
3,Galaxy Note 10.1 etc and also ,1 billion $ fine is a meager 1.5 % of Samsung’s Electronics annual revenue.
Though it has challenged the verdict by taking this case a step forward to a court in Washington which specialises in
patent appeals and vowed to fight in US
Supreme court ,if necessary.
The patent enfringement
ensuing between these tech giants is
mainly on two fronts :- Software and
Design.
On software, Samsung
infringe :
(i)
Apple’s bounce-back effect when a user
tries to scroll beyond the end of a list or image.
(ii)
Apple’s pinching and zooming scroll feature.
(iii)
Apple’s tap-to-zoom feature.
On design, Samsung infringed:
(i)
Apple’s iPhone’s face, screen and
speaker slot.
(ii)
the ornamental design and shape of the
iPhone’s face, rounded corners and bezel.
(iii)
the icon arrangement on the home screen.
The detailed perspective of these patent violations and it implication
for both the companies and its consumers can be understood by the video below:
Immediate reaction to Apple’s legal
victory over Samsung was felt in stock prices and market capitalization of its competitors
in capital markets across the world. Samsung’s share plummeted by 7.7 % wiping
out 12 billion $ market value of this South Korean giant with Google sitting
down on the same side with shares closing 1.4 % down at 699.22 $.
On the bullish side ,Apple stocks surged by 1.9 % closing at 675.68 $ adding 12
billion $ to its market cap standing at 633.38 billion $ (World’s most valuable
company).The potential beneficiary to this historic court ruling was Microsoft
,Nokia and Blackberry who will be the alternatives to Android platform plagued
now by legal suits.
Nokia (betting on its revamped
Windows mobile platform )rose 7.7 per cent to close at 2.68 euros in Helsinki.
The stock is down 29 per cent this year. Microsoft climbed less than 1 per cent
to $US30.69 in NASDAQ(biggest stock exchange for technology stocks).
Mobile manufacturers will need to take design and software development with utmost importance without flouting international patent laws and might find it difficult to launch new products and service in response to ban imposed by courts favouring a more innovative company. Consumers will be affected by higher prices which is passed on by mobile manufacturers due to high R&D costs in complying stringent norms and will be limited by diversity of phones and tablets that the market has to offer.
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