Two Jury Verdicts Still Don’t Equal Resolution in Battle of Apple vs. Samsung

A second jury has decided that Samsung owes Apple hundreds of millions of dollars for infringing on patents. But while the verdict in this case is in and the jury’s work done, the battle between Apple and Samsung is far from over.

In just this case there will be post-trial motions to throw out the verdict as well as pleas for injunctions, attorney’s fees and sanctions. Oh, and of course both sides will no doubt appeal as well.

And this dispute is itself just one of many being waged by the two companies in multiple venues on several continents. Indeed, Apple and Samsung are due back in the same courtroom early next year for an entirely new trial over a later generation of Samsung phones and tablets.

Judge Lucy Koh, who is presiding over both the just-concluded case and next year’s trial, is clearly tired of seeing both parties and their lawyers. She has frequently pushed the two companies to hold settlement talks and lambasted the lawyers for the amount of paperwork that has burdened her courtroom.

The volume of paperwork, though, is a testament to just how high the stakes are in this battle. Combined, Apple and Samsung account for essentially all the profits in the smartphone business.

With that much money at stake, one starts to see why the two companies are willing to spend so much money on lawyers and expert witnesses.

As for a settlement, it’s not clear what would meet one company’s needs while still being remotely palatable to the other.

Apple argues that the case is about more than money. But really, it is about money, just more money than was ever going to be at stake in this one trial.

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