The trial between Apple vs Samsung wasn’t officially over, when the jury briefly reassembled to fix an error made in the paperwork and deliver the final message to Apple.
The error emerged from the fact that the jury failed to endow Apple damages for one of the patent violations it stated Samsung had committed. The jury ended up awarding Apple $4 million for the particular claim, yet because it moved some of the other amounts around, the total award still stands at $119.5 million. That’s far too short of the early demand of $2.2 billion from Apple.
The jury foreman revealed that his eight-person jury didn’t believe the larger amount was justified. He also suggested Apple may be better served by going after Google directly, rather than using Samsung as a proxy.
“It wasn’t a decision based on trying to send a message to one company or another,” said the jury foreman, Thomas Dunham. “If they really feel Google is the cause behind this, then don’t beat around the bush.”
Although Google was not involved in this lawsuit, it came up frequently during the trial. Citing emails from Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, Samsung’s lawyer argued that Google was the real deal. It also emerged that Google was providing behind-the-scenes assistance on some of the patent claims in question, which lead to the infringing features found in the Android operating system.
Samsung did come out with one minor victory on Friday, when the jury found Apple had infringed on one of Samsung’s patents related to camera folders, and awarded $158,000 to the Korean company. The last Monday session has marked the end of the legal battle between Apple and Samsung, though either side could still appeal. The 2012 case is still pending appeal, where the jury in that case ordered Samsung to pay Apple $890 million.