Justice comes under spotlight in Samsung-Apple verdict

Fairness has come under spotlight over the recent verdict on the patent lawsuit between Samsung Electronics and Apple.

Local market observers including some analysts remained cynical over the situation that Apple won a billion dollars last week, after a jury ruled that Samsung had copied a handful of features from the iPhone.

They cast doubt if the jury really profoundly reviewed a variety of documents, tendered from both sides, which involve technology-related sophisticated content.

“While attorneys for Apple expressed their arguments in easy, convincing languages, it seems that Samsung attorneys had mostly used too difficult terms in front of the jury,” a local analyst said.

“But I believe the jury should have been more prudent in delivering the verdict as the patent suit must be based on core technologies and exact evidence,” he said.

An analyst alleged that some hundred-pages of evidences and technologies submitted by Samsung were not the main issue in the verdict. “I think they tried to reprimand Samsung by all means.”

They shared the view that the richest and most powerful company in the world is suing a competitor for imitating some cool features, features that, arguably, shouldn’t have been patentable in the first place.

A U.S. blogger described Apple as “a company that generates more cash in a day than most companies generate in a year.”

He said Apple suing competitors for copying minor features is not about “fairness” or “justice” or “innovation” or even money.

A nine-person jury found Samsung had willfully infringed design and software patents covering iPads and iPhones. If the $1.05 billion damage award survives, it will be one of the largest verdicts in patent history.

Apple’s demand of removing Samsung’s mobile devices in the U.S. market comes after Samsung’s legal defeat against Apple in a patent battle. The U.S. District Court of Northern California will hold a hearing regarding Apple’s request on Sept. 20.

Apple appears to have asked for a sales ban on Samsung’s recent-launched products out of 28 Samsung smartphones with features that a U.S. jury determined as Apple-owned patents.

Apple asked for a sales ban on Samsung’s Galaxy S 4G, Galaxy S2 (AT&T), Galaxy S2 (Skyrocket), Galaxy S2 (T-Mobile), Galaxy S2 (Epic 4G), Galaxy S (Showcase), the Droid Charge and the Galaxy Prevail.

The sales ban, even if approved by the U.S. court, is not likely to wield a significantly negative influence on Samsung’s earnings in the short term, say industry sources, as Samsung’s latest products, the Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy Note 2, are not included in the list.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)