Samsung Electronics could be ordered to pay Apple $3BN in damages

GlobalPost

A US judge could order Samsung Electronics to pay more than $3 billion in damages to Apple and ban the sale of certain Samsung products in the United States after a Californian jury found it “willfully” infringed half a dozen patents relating to Apple’s iconic iPhone and iPad, reports said today.

The nine-person jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple $1.05 billion in damages, but Judge Lucy Koh has the power to triple the amount because the infringements were found to be “willful,” the Washington Post reported.

Shares in the South Korean technology giant plunged 7.5 percent today – the biggest daily percentage drop in four years – wiping more than $12 billion off its market value after the jury decision on Friday, Reuters reported.

The jury took 22 hours to reach its verdict after sorting through more than three weeks of evidence. The relatively speedy deliberation surprised some observers of the case given the complexity of the testimony.

A hearing has been set down for September 20 when Koh will decide whether Apple can file injunctions against the sale of certain Samsung products in the United States, the Agence France-Presse reported.

Samsung said it would contest the verdict, which is part of global legal battle between the technology giants being fought in nine countries around the world.

On Friday, a South Korean court ruled Samsung and Apple had infringed on each other’s patents and awarded damages to both companies.

It also banned the sales of certain products in South Korea, including Apple’s iPhone 4 and iPad 2, as well as Samsung’s Galaxy S and Galaxy SII.

More from GlobalPost: Apple becomes most valuable publicly-traded company of all time

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