A few weeks after the launch of Samsung Galaxy S5 in Nigeria, the jury in a federal court in California, United States ordered the company to pay Apple $119.6 million (N193.8 billion) for copying two of its products.
The jurors also found credence in counterclaims by Samsung and agreed that Apple pays its rival $158,400 in damages.
Apple portrayed the verdict as a victory that “reinforces what courts around the world have already found: that Samsung wilfully stole our ideas and copied our products.”
Toyin Obire of Xlr8 Limited, a communication agency for Samsung, said “Samsung Nigeria would not comment on the issue until the headquarters issues an official statement.”
Samsung is considered the leading smartphone brand in Nigeria with a dozen products launched quarterly.
Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) Chairman, Lolu Akinwunmi, predicted that the brand may not suffer any local consequences as a result of the verdict.
“It will happen again and again and again because of intense competition. Sometimes the offending countries are prepared to breach and then pay the fine because the money they make is bigger than the fine they pay.
“And you must note that for an aspiring manufacturer to move up, one of the things it does is copy the designs or technologies of the leader. Japanese manufacturers did it to Americans. The Chinese are doing it to the Japanese. Indians are doing it to everyone,” Akinwunmi noted.
He said no one pays attention to these things in developing countries, otherwise they would not be buying many Asian products; they just want practical products at affordable prices.
“Patent infringement, while it’s an offence, cannot be a yardstick to measure the quality of product so the consumer is not in any higher risk by the infringement,” added Consumer Advocacy Foundation of Nigeria (CAFON) President, Sola Salako.
Another industry watcher, who preferred anonymity, argued that “being found guilty of infringing on two of Apple’s patents does not amount to Samsung phones being adjudged to be substandard.
“As a result, I don’t think the court judgment against Samsung will affect the patronage of its phones so much, particularly in Nigeria.”
Apple accused Samsung of infringing five of its patents, covering functions such as the “slide to unlock” from its devices and had sought $2.2 billion at the trial.
Samsung denied any wrongdoing and sought $6 million after arguing Apple had infringed two of its smartphone patents related to camera use and video transmission.
“Though this verdict is large by normal standards, it is hard to view this outcome as much of a victory for Apple,” said Brian Love, a Santa Clara University law professor.
“This amount ($119.6 million) is less than 10 per cent of the amount Apple requested and probably doesn’t surpass by too much the amount Apple spent litigating this case.”
This verdict marks the latest legal battle over intellectual property between the world’s top two smartphone makers.
Apple and Samsung have been fighting patent battles for years and across many countries.
Two years ago, a separate jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple $930 million after finding it had used Apple technology. That verdict is still being challenged by Samsung.
The BBC said the verdict will probably come as a blow for Apple, which portrayed Samsung as resorting to “the dark side of intentional copying”.
The figure would appear to reflect the jury’s belief that Apple’s settlement claim was unfairly inflated. Samsung argued all along that it should be far lower than the $2.2 billion sought, not least because some of the patents were never even incorporated into the iPhone’s software.
They say lawyers are the only ones who win from patent wars.
In this case that could well prove true – with all the mudslinging and embarrassing leaks of internal memos witnessed in the courtroom over the past month, neither company’s reputation has been enhanced.