미 법원 "삼성전자, 애플에 1조2천억원 배상하라"

 

10억5,000만달러는  24일 환율 기준으로 1조1917억원으로 1조2천억원에 가까운 금액이다.

 

애플은 지난해 삼성전자가 애플의 아이폰과 아이패드의 디자인 기술을 도용했다면서 25억 달러의 배상을 요구하는 소송을 제기했었다. 이에 대해 삼성전자는 애플이 오히려 삼성의 기술특허를 침해했다며 3억9900만 달러를 배상하라는 맞소송을 제기했었댜.

 

삼성전자와 애플 간 특허 침해 소송을 심리해온 배심원단은 이날 삼성전자가 애플의 특허 최소 3가지를 고의적으로 침해했다고 평결했다.

 

배심원단은 삼성의 휴대전화 일부가 앞면 테두리와 아이콘, 앞면의 검은 색 처리 등 3가지에서 애플의 디자인 특허를 침해했다고 평결했다.

 

평결은 또 삼성전자가 애플의 '바운스 백' 기능 특허를 침해했으며 휴대전화 일부는 애플의 줌 및 내비게이트 기능에 대한 특허를 침해했다고 밝혔다.

 

배심원단은 그러나 삼성의 갤럭시탭 10.1이 애플의 디자인 특허를 침해하지 않았다고 덧붙였다.

 

삼성전자와 애플은 시장 규모가 2190억 달러에 이르는 스마트폰 및 태블릿 컴퓨터 시장을 놓고 치열한 경쟁을 벌이고 있으며 영국과 독일, 호주, 일본 등 세계 10곳에서 비슷한 소송이 진행 중이어서 앞으로 다는 나라들에서의 재판 결과는 어떻게 될 지 관심을 모으고 있다.

 

앞서 한국 법원은 24일 애플이 삼성전자의 기술특허를 침해했다며 삼성전자의 손을 들어주었다.

 

dbtpwls@newsis.com

 

During closing arguments, Apple attorney Harold McElhinny claimed Samsung was having a "crisis of design" after the 2007 launch of the iPhone, and executives with the South Korean company were determined to illegally cash in on the success of the revolutionary device.

Samsung's lawyers countered that it was simply and legally giving consumers what they want: Smart phones with big screens. They said Samsung didn't violate any of Apple's patents and further alleged innovations claimed by Apple were actually created by other companies.

Samsung has emerged as one of Apple's biggest rivals and has overtaken Apple as the leading smartphone maker.

Samsung's Galaxy line of phones run on Android, a mobile operating system that Google Inc. has given out for free to Samsung and other phone makers.

Samsung conceded that Apple makes great products but said it doesn't have a monopoly on the design of rectangle phones with rounded corners that it claimed it created.

The trial came after each side filed a blizzard of legal motions and refused advisories by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh to settle the dispute out of court.

Deliberations by the jury of seven men and two women began Wednesday.

Samsung has sold 22.7 million smartphones and tablets that Apple claimed uses its technology. McElhinny said those devices accounted for $8.16 billion in sales since June 2010.

Apple and Samsung combined account for more than half of global smartphone sales.

As part of its lawsuit, Apple also demanded that Samsung pull its most popular cellphones and computer tablets from the U.S. market.

From the beginning, legal experts and Wall Street analysts viewed Samsung as the underdog in the case. Apple's headquarters is a mere 10 miles from the courthouse, and jurors were picked from the heart of Silicon Valley where Apple's late founder Steve Jobs is a revered technological pioneer.

While the legal and technological issues were complex, patent expert Alexander I. Poltorak previously said the case would likely boil down to whether jurors believe Samsung's products look and feel almost identical to Apple's iPhone and iPad.

To overcome that challenge at trial, Samsung's lawyers argued that many of Apple's claims of innovation were either obvious concepts or ideas stolen from Sony Corp. and others. Experts called that line of argument a high-risk strategy because of Apple's reputation as an innovator.

Apple's lawyers argued there is almost no difference between Samsung products and those of Apple, and presented internal Samsung documents they said showed it copied Apple designs. Samsung lawyers insisted that several other companies and inventors had previously developed much of the Apple technology at issue.

The U.S. trial is just the latest skirmish between the two tech giants over product designs. Previous legal battles were fought in Australia, the United Kingdom and Germany.

The U.S. case is one of some 50 lawsuits among myriad telecommunications companies jockeying for position in the burgeoning $219 billion market for smartphones and computer tablets.

A jury has ruled for Apple in its huge smartphone patent infringement case involving Samsung and ordered Samsung to pay $1.5 billion.

The verdict was reached Friday.

In its lawsuit filed last year, Apple Inc. had demanded $2.5 billion while accusing Samsung of ripping off the design technology of iPhones and iPads.

During closing arguments at the trial, Samsung attorney Charles Verhoeven called that demand ridiculous and asked the jury to award Samsung $399 million after claiming Apple used Samsung Electronics Co. technology without proper compensation.

The two companies lead the $219 billion market for smartphones and computer tablets. They are enmeshed in similar lawsuits in the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia. <뉴시스>