Patent Wars: Why Apple's $1 billion courtroom victory over Samsung is important

Last Friday, a California court ruled that Samsung infringed on several Apple design patents. These include the single-finger scrolling technology, tap-to-zoom, and the icon grid introduced with the first iPhone. All in all, the court found Samsung guilty for willfully infringing on seven of Apple’s patents and pinned a $1.05 billion bill to the South Korean company.

The two parties are to go back to court on September 20th, where the jury will hear post-trial motions. The final decision will likely be decided in an appellate court, but Apple’s initial win is huge. What does this mean for Apple, Samsung and the others in the mobile arena? Let’s take a look.

For Apple…
Well, gaining 20% of your biggest rival’s operating profit last quarter certainly doesn’t hurt a company. But Apple’s greatest victory in this case is that the court found their patents valid. If any company wants to use the features infringed upon by Samsung, they’ll have to pay Apple to use them or find another way to implement them. Of course, this could boost innovation down the road, but in the short-term it definitely gives Apple more ammo. With the major players scrambling to secure and protect patents, the house Steve Jobs built scored major points.

For Samsung…
Many smartphone-makers have copied functionality featured in Apple’s lawsuit, so why did Samsung get blasted? Perhaps it’s because, globally, Samsung is Apple’s biggest competitor in the smartphone market. Potentially, they could hand over $1.05 billion to Apple. If the decision is upheld, Samsung would also have to remove several phones and tablets from the marketplace. Apple’s already pushing to remove several Samsung handsets, and this would cause them to lose even more money.

For Google…
All of the targeted Samsung phones run different versions of Android, Google’s mobile operating system, so this could give them reason to be scared. With the court finding Apple’s patents valid, what’s to stop them from suing Google and other handset manufacturers? Nothing, and unless Google wants to pay a large sum of money, they should try to find new ways to implement features.

For Microsoft…
Surprisingly, Bill Gate’s company benefits from this decision. Whereas the other companies copied features from the iPhone, Microsoft opted to create an entirely new design for their phones. Because of this, they probably could win a legal battle against Apple, and with Samsung’s products potentially banned from the market, Microsoft could gain a stronger share in the U.S. This could give Microsoft a huge boost from the end of the pack.

For Consumers…
This decision will do one of two things. Hopefully, it’ll force companies to innovate, and in the long-term they’ll come up with new ways to present homescreens, the mobile web and other essentials of smartphone functionality. But it could also further drive this patent war, making these companies scramble to secure their patents and focus on winning battles in court rather than in the marketplace. Let’s pray for the first one.