Few years back it was reported that Apple filed a lawsuit against Samsung for copying iPhone features. In a hearing on last Thursday, Apple finally won the case. The court’s ruling said that Samsung will no longer be allowed to copy specific iPhone features.
According to the judgment by Federal Court in Washington, Samsung will now have to change certain features in their smartphones’ software like slide to unlock, quick link software and auto correct.
Samsung had already changed the working of aforementioned features before the decision. For instance, Samsung Galaxy phones can be unlocked by just swiping your finger anywhere on the display screen. Slide to unlock button was already removed in Galaxy Smartphones before the judgment. Moreover, Samsung had also updated its mobiles’ keyboard since the final ruling.
Samsung commented on the judgment conveying that Galaxy Smartphone series will continue to be sold however they are further reviewing the decision.
The final ruling also added that they do not want to destabilize Samsung smartphones by taking them off the market, but they want Samsung to remove the infringing features without recalling their smartphones.
This lawsuit was filed back in February 2012 which means ages back in terms of technology calendar. At that time, Samsung had just launched the Galaxy S II which was the latest phone to be a listed in the lawsuit. Earlier this year, Samsung released the newest smartphone S6 in the Galaxy series.
In an initial decision by the court, Samsung was fined $120 million payable to Apple for the violation of its patents. The amount of fine imposed was less than a tenth of what Apple had initially demanded.