A U.S. jury has ruled that South Korea's Samsung Electronics infringed on several patents for mobile devices owned by the U.S. company Apple in the latest stage of a multibillion dollar global legal battle between the two technology powerhouses.
The jury in the state of California awarded Apple more than $1 billion in damages in its decision Friday. In a statement, an Apple spokeswoman said "the evidence showed that Samsung's copying went far deeper than we ever knew."
In return, Samsung said the verdict "should not be viewed as a win for Apple, but as a loss for the American consumer," and warned it will lead to less innovation and potentially higher prices. Samsung is likely to appeal the verdict.
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.
Industry analysts say the smartphone market is valued at more than $200 billion.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.