A U.S. jury has awarded a
victory to U.S. technology giant Apple, saying that its South Korean rival,
Samsung Electronics, infringed on several patents for mobile devices.
The jury in the state of California awarded Apple more than a billion
dollars in damages in its decision Friday.
Samsung is likely to appeal
the verdict, which said the South Korean company had illegally used several
Apple technologies.
Apple also claimed that Samsung illegally copied the
shapes of its popular iPhone and iPad devices and used them to create its own
line of Galaxy devices.
Samsung had argued that by 2006 - months before
Apple introduced its first iPhone in early 2007 - it was developing a next
generation of smartphones with a rounded rectangular body that both companies
now use.
The case is part of a multibillion-dollar global legal battle
between the two technology powerhouses. Industry analysts say the smartphone
market is valued at more than $200 billion.
Earlier Friday, a South
Korean court ruled that both Apple and Samsung infringed on the others'
patents.
The Seoul court said that Apple infringed on two Samsung
wireless patents, while Samsung violated one of Apple's design patents. It
awarded small damages to each side and imposed a limited ban on the sale of each
company's products in South Korea.
Some
information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and
Reuters.