Finally the prosecution rests, and the curtains are down. The keenly followed legal battle had the jury deliberating for a week before giving a decisive verdict. There were seven “Ayes” and jus two “Nays” to the primary question: Whether there was gross violation on the part of Samsung when it blatantly copied Apple’s patent for its iPad. To be precise, Samsung copied the ‘bounceback’ action incorporated in the iPad. The universal reaction to Apple’s victory against Samsung was “I thought as much, this was what was expected”.
Things are not going to be the same anymore in the smartphone market. Samsung and other manufacturers have to pull up their acts and do something about the billions of dollars already invested. It is quite clear now to Apple’s competitors that they just cannot copy the iPhone at will. What they do with the millions of dollars worth raw material, semi-finished goods and stock that is ready for sale is their lookout. They could of course, try to tweak their products and add something here and remove something there and try to circumvent the designs and the patents that are no longer bones of contention. However, they will need to tread really carefully, lest they lose more money in damages.
On the other hand, will this give Apple an opportunity to put up their price and start a process that can only culminate in absolute monopoly? Will any of the competitors come up with something as good without infringing patent rights? This is an open question that needs to be thought over by all concerned. As far as the verdict is concerned, it is clear that damages to the tune of $1 billion need to be paid to Apple by the defendant, Samsung. However, there is another court hearing scheduled to take place in the coming weeks where the judge will decide whether to block the sale of Samsung’s products that have infringed on Apple’s design and patent and are already in stock.
Apple’s Victory Against Samsung
The great thing is that intellectual property rights have been upheld in a fair and just manner and the effort, and years of hard work on research and development put in by Apple have received due recognition. Notwithstanding, you just cannot rule out the possibility of Samsung and other likeminded companies having put in their own efforts in design and development simultaneously. Companies in the same line will now be in a dilemma as to whether they should conduct research and development on a particular product with the prospect of somebody else beating them to it looming large. Apple has played it really smart by patenting its pinch-to-zoom function that has now become an identity stamp for touch screen devices. So much so, no touch screen product can dare call itself one minus this feature. The patent right will prevent others from adopting this technique – circumvention or no circumvention.
Steve Jobs left behind a legacy for posterity. He is probably the most talked about man who is in the league of Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Brilliance and intellectual property rights need to be respected and honored; however you can’t deny the fact that such people can hold the world at ransom by being absolute monopolies. A judge needs to ponder on this while pronouncing his verdict on similar issues. One thing is certain though, Steve Jobs will no longer be turning in his grave.
Author Bio
Travis Ramsy likes writing articles related to Technology News, Gadget Reviews and How To. He also does guest posting for buycharter.com – a site that offers savings and current information on charter tv, as well as charter.com services
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