Samsung Trial Jury to Apple: Go After Google


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Appsung-juryApple attorney Rachel Krevans, right, walks with others to a federal courthouse in San Jose, California.

Image: Jeff Chiu/Associated Press



The jury for the latest Apple vs Samsung trial may have reached a verdict Friday. But the trial wasn't officially over until Monday afternoon, when the jury briefly reconvened to correct an error made in the paperwork — and deliver a final message to Apple.


The error stemmed from the fact that the jury failed to award Apple damages for one of the patent violations it decided Samsung had committed. The jury ended up awarding Apple $4 million for the particular claim, but because it moved some of the other amounts around, the total award still stands at $119.5 million. That's far short of the $2.2 billion Apple was asking for.



The jury foreman spoke to the media Monday, revealing that his eight-person jury didn't believe the larger amount was justified. He also suggested Apple may be better served by going after Google directly, rather than using Samsung as a proxy.


"It wasn't a decision based on trying to send a message to one company or another," foreman Thomas Dunham, told the San Jose Mercury News . "If they really feel Google is the cause behind this, then don't beat around the bush."


Though Google was not involved in the suit, the company came up repeatedly during the month-long trial. Citing emails from Apple CEO Steve Jobs, lawyers for Samsung argued Google was the real target. It also emerged that Google was providing behind-the-scenes assistance on some of the patent claims in question, which deal with infringing features found in the Android operating system.


Samsung did come out with one minor victory Friday when the jury found Apple had infringed on one of Samsung's patents related to camera folders, and awarded $158,000 to the Korean company.


Monday's session marked the end of the latest legal battle between Apple and Samsung, though either side could still appeal. The 2012 case is still pending appeal; the jury in that case ordered Samsung to pay Apple $890 million.


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Topics: apple, apple vs samsung, Mobile, samsung, Tech




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