Apple and Samsung have been duking it out in courts around the globe, fighting over patents related to their tablets and smartphones. We've seen the Galaxy Tab pulled from sale in Australia, then reinstated after court decisions. There have also been significant cases in the UK and Germany over the sale of the devices.
But the big battle has recently been played out in a San Jose court, with the two Mega companies fighting over allegations of copying and patent infringement. It has been a dramatic case, giving a rare insight into the design processes of the two companies, and arguments wrapped up last week. For an excellent and extensive rundown of what the case is about check out this summary on the Verge.
Surprisingly the jury has already returned, maybe wanting to get it done before the weekend. The decision was long and complicated, addressing patent infringment on a per device basis. There are 700 questions in total for the jury to answer, and the initial ones are going largely Apple's way. We'll update thestory once all of the verdict has been fully announced.
Update: After some clarificiations from the Jury the case now moves onto talk of injunctions and appeals, with the next hearing set for September 20th. In the end the Jury found overwhelmingly in favour of Apple, and the final damages amount that Samsung is ordered to pay is US $1,049,343,540. With over a billion dollars at stake this this won't be the last we hear of this case, as appeals are almost certain to come from Samsung.
