What Apple’s Patent Victory Means for Broader Smartphone Market

• Adage reports that Apple scored a clear victory in its patent dispute with Samsung Electronics Friday, increasing pressure on smartphone makers around the world to create handsets that stand apart from the iPhone and deliver more choices for consumers in a $219.1 billion market. Apple claimed that South Korea-based Samsung infringed four design patents and three software patents in copying the iPhone and iPad. Jurors found infringement by all 21 Samsung devices that Apple claimed had copied its so-called rubberbanding technology, the way an iPad or iPhone screen seems to bounce when a user scrolls to the end of a file.
• The verdict strengthens Apple’s hand as it seeks to discourage Samsung and competitors such as HTC and LG from making devices that mimic the iPhone. While it’s a blow to efforts by Samsung and its software partner Google Inc. to challenge Apple in smartphones, the outcome will probably mean a broader range of devices and more options for consumers as rivals seek to avoid costly legal tussles, said Carl Howe, an analyst at Yankee Group.
• “This is a big win for Apple,” said Mr. Howe. “It’s good for innovation. It says that if you create something new, others can’t just piggyback on it. From a competition point of view, it says create your own stuff. It says copying is not OK.” The verdict also hands a defeat to Google, which may need to scale back or change features of Android, said Kevin Rivette, founder of 3LP Advisors LLC and former VP-intellectual property strategy for International Business Machines Corp.  “Google is in a position that it didn’t want to be in,” he said.