The rumors surrounding the iPhone 5 are still coming in, but important news has just appeared: the trial in the United States between Apple and Samsung is now complete. On Friday, the jury deliberated surprisingly fast, and the results are not in favor of the South Korean firm.
Samsung ordered to pay $1,051,850,000 to Apple
The sum may seem huge, but it is only the beginning. Samsung Electronics will truly have to pay a whopping 1 billion and 51.85 million dollars. In addition to the fine, Samsung should expect from Apple to file a motion of censure, meaning Apple will ask for the outright withdrawal of the offending Samsung smartphones in the U.S. market. This is a hard blow for the Korean brand, and it now leaves the doors wide open for the launch of the iPhone 5.
On the one hand, Apple originated in the United States and has the largest market capitalization in the world. On the other hand, Samsung Electronics, is a South Korean company that has a strong presence in the United States and around the world. Its strong impact with its current Galaxy S3 is extremely detrimental to the iPhone 4S from Apple. The Galaxy S3 hopes to compete with the iPhone 5, which has an unconfirmed release date of Sept. 21st.
After the success won by Apple, in the future, other manufacturers should be much more careful not to copy the iPhone 5 and also the new iPad. Otherwise, they will face a stiff penalty, and will be prohibited from selling some of their products on American soil. Therefore, Apple can be reassured that the iPhone 5 will not be copied as much as previous versions.
After this long trial with numerous repercussions on the future of touchscreen phones including the iPhone 5, Apple comes out on top. Meanwhile, companies such as HTC or LG, are likely to see the smartphone market get really complicated for them. They will now face a very high risk if they copy Apple products, such as the iPhone 5.
After the trial, Samsung announced that the decision of the court was against innovation. Apple now takes advantage of its direct competitor Samsung, and Apple may be in the development of oligopolistic status. All Apple's competitors may therefore have to pay heavily for the license fees for each phone sold. This is only the beginning, and the release of the new iPhone 5 is expected to revive tensions between the competitors.
