Apple Inc. (AAPL) Wins Patent Suit v. Samsung; $1.05B Award

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) convinced the jury in its landmark patent-infringement case vs. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., as the jury came back after just three days of deliberations and ruled that Samsung had infringed on all of Apple’s patents, rejected Samsung’s arguments on its patents, and awarded Apple $1.05 billion in damages in the decision revealed late Friday afternoon.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was able to easily convince the seven-man and two-woman jury that Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. had indeed copied designs and operations of the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, with one exception – the jury could not come to an agreement regarding patent claims surrounding the iPad and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet.

Not only was Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) awarded damages, but there looms also the possibility that Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. could be banned from future sales of the disputed devices in the U.S. and even banned from importing them into the marketplace. As the U.S. is currently the largest smartphone market in the world, there are literally billions of dollars at stake here. Samsung at last count had owned nearly 70 percent of the U.S. market thanks to its alliance with Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and its Android operating system. Now, though, Samsung may have to start over with its smartphones (unless of course it appeals), and Google’s largest partner in distributing the Android operating system in smartphones is dealt a crushing blow. This may likely also have a wide ripple effect across the entire smartphone industry, and likely severely damages Google’s influence – not just Samsung.

This not only should open the door for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to take control of the smartphone market, but it also opens up an opportunity for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) to grab a significant amount of market share this fall when they collaborate to launch the new Lumia model of handset that will run Windows Phone 8. Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK) has struggled to get smartphone market share in the past, and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) only had about 6 percent of the market in the last quarter with its versions of Windows Phone 7.

As the decision was read, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock jumped 2 percent after-hours Friday. This could be just the beginning.