Apple v. Samsung: What is the suit all about?

Intellectual Property Rights or IPRs are the rights granted to an intellectually developed item which could be in the form of a computer program, a novel or an electronic device. Patent is one form of IPR granted for inventions. A patent gives the owner a right to restrict others from using, selling and manufacturing of the patented product.  

 

The complaint was first filed by Apple, Inc. in April 2011 (original complaint can be accessed at:http://stadium.weblogsinc.com/engadget/files/ApplevSamsung_April2011.pdf) alleging several intellectual property infringements carried out by Samsung.  Some of those infringements are caused by the technology which interprets the finger activity on touchscreens, existence of violation of its various software, hardware design patents, and trade-dress dilution.

 

In order to establish infringement various expert opinions have to be collected. These opinions aid the courts in deciding whether there has truly been copying or not. In this case, the alleged infringements were very technical in nature and hence many expert opinions were submitted. (The details can be found in the June 27 ruling, accessible at: http://scholar.google.co.in/scholar_case?case=18129661040466943410 ).

 

Samsung Electronics Co. has vehemently declared Apple’s claims as futile and invalid. Such complaints have been filed all over the world and at some places Samsung has managed to bag a win too. The Samsung lawyer said “The patent is just a marginal solution for a problem that does not exist”.

 

The jury ordered Samsung to pay approximately $1.05 billion to Apple for the infringements. Hogan, a 67 year old electrical engineer, said that “ [the jury] wanted to send a message to the industry at large that patent infringing is not the right thing to do, not just Samsung”.

 

This verdict has significant implications for American innovation, technology and for the consumers that go far beyond the perceivable limits. It is still unclear as to what is the future of Samsung products in American market. This fervor might lead to complete ban of certain products which will be decided in forthcoming rulings set to take place in the months of September and December. But a hunch is that, the prices of the banned products may go up. The price hike is mainly attributable to payment of royalty to Apple; for technology use by Samsung. Also, the people who already own those Samsung products may face problems while reselling. If the products are banned completely then the current users may have to deal with lesser updates on software and apps available in the Samsung products.