The jury in
the Apple-Samsung patent
infringement case concluded Friday that Samsung should pay Apple $1 billion in
damages for ripping off features of Apple's iPhone.This ruling is good for
Apple (AAPL),
bad for Samsung and other Apple competitors, and terrible for consumers, as
Aaron and I discuss in the accompanying video.
The monetary
damages here, though large, are almost irrelevant. Apple already
has more than $100 billion of cash, and Samsung will barely miss $1 billion.
And that's assuming the ruling stands up on appeal, which some legal experts
think is unlikely.
More
important is the precedent that this case sets, which is that gadget companies
can successfully bring and win cases based on what might be described as "feature patents."
One of the claims Apple made, for example, was that Samsung had infringed on an
Apple patent that covered a "rectangular" phone. Given that all
smartphones are rectangular, this patent and others like it could have a
far-reaching impact.
Apple's
success here may also cause Samsung and other competitors to think twice before
incorporating basic features that people like about iPhones. And that
could lead to competitive products being distinctly worse. Although Apple
shareholders might like this, the precedent could hurt consumer choice.
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