Google on Monday downplayed the impact of
Apple's court victory in a patent case against Samsung, claiming that
the decision bore little relevance to the company's Android operating
system.
Google's statement came after a California jury on Friday awarded
Apple over 1 billion dollars in damages after finding that mobile
devices made by Samsung, and running on Google's Android software,
violated six Apple design patents.
While most of the products cited in Apple's court filing have
already been discontinued, the judge in the case has already issued
an injunction against Samsung selling its Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet in
the US and further injunctions may now be ordered. However the
company's top-selling smartphone, the Galaxy SIII is not affected by
the decision.
Samsung saw its stock price plummet up to 8 per cent following the
verdict and vowed to appeal the ruling.
Google, which according to evidence presented in court, warned
Samsung that its designs too closely resembled the iPhone, backed the
South Korean company's plans to contest the ruling, saying that the
court of appeals would review both infringement and the validity of
the patent claims.
"Most of these don't relate to the core Android operating system,
and several are being re-examined by the US Patent Office," a Google
spokesperson told dpa.
Google added that many of Apple's claims of innovation were
reliant on pre-existing technologies. "The mobile industry is moving
fast and all players - including newcomers - are building upon ideas
that have been around for decades," Google said. "We work with our
partners to give consumers innovative and affordable products, and we
don't want anything to limit that."
