A judge has found Samsung Electronics Co. guilty of infringing a text-selection feature seen on Apple devices.
A U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) judge issued the ruling, but it was a preliminary decision. The ruling is not final, as a full commission within the ITC will decide if it will uphold the judge's decision.
While the ITC judge believes Samsung violated one of Apple's patent, there was also a second patent on the table.
Apple had also accused Samsung of infringing a patent that allowed devices detect if a microphone or another device is plugged into the microphone jack. The ITC judge did not find Samsung guilty of the second infringement.
If the full commission decides to agree with the judge, the ITC could order a U.S. ban of any Samsung device that infringed Apple's patent. Apple has named Samsung's Galaxy, Nexus, and Transform devices, of infringing its patents.
Although Samsung has a partnership with Apple in developing components for the iPad and iPhone, the Cupertino-based company has accused them of further infringements. Samsung, in return, accused Apple of violating its ideas. In the U.S., the case resulted in a $1.05 billion verdict last August in Apple's favor.
As Latinos Post has been monitoring, U.S. District Court Judge Lucy H. Koh reduced the $1.05 billion verdict by 40 percent. The percentage equates to approximately $450.5 million.
The case is not over yet as both sides filed documents that will result in a second trial in San Jose, Calif.
With the reduction were 14 Samsung products Apple accused of infringing their patents. To decide the cost of the 14 Samsung products, a new trial will be set in California, and the South Korean-based company is aware the case could backfire on them once again. The 14 patents, which include the Galaxy Prevail, Gem, Indulge, Infuse 4G, AT&T Galaxy S2, Captivate, Continuum, Droid Charge, Epic 4G, Exhibit 4G, Galaxy Tab, Nexus S 4G, Replenish, and Transform, could result in Samsung paying in damages exceeding the $1.05 billion verdict.
While a March 2014 date was set to discuss Samsung's Galaxy S3 and Apple's iPhone 5, it remains to be seen if the 14 before-mentioned Samsung devices will be settled in a third trial.
Latinos Post has covered the Apple vs. Samsung Patent Infringement Trial with a series chronicling the patent infringement case. The first installment can be read here, dating back Apple original complaint, while the second installment on how the Apple vs. Samsung trials is proceeding worldwide, click here. The third installment on its impact on other tech companies, such as HTC and Motorola, can be viewed here.