S. Korean Court to Apple, Samsung: You're Both Guilty

Samsung did indeed violate one of Apple's patents in making its Galaxy mobile devices—but Apple violated two of Samsung's patents right back, a South Korean court concluded today. A three-judge panel awarded both companies damages that were a lot lower than what they were asking for, and banned the sale of a number of products from each in the country. But the effect is largely symbolic; said products are all earlier models of current Apple and Samsung offerings, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The court ruled that there was "no possibility" that consumers might confuse the two companies' products, and dismissed Apple's complaint that Samsung's icons were infringing. Apple was ordered to pay $17,650 per violation in damages and saw its iPhone 4 and iPad 2 banned, while Samsung was ordered to pay $22,000 and lost three Galaxy smartphones and two Galaxy tablets. Both had been asking for around $90,000. The ruling will have little impact on the larger Apple/Samsung dispute playing out in US and Australian courts, notes the Journal. (More Apple stories.)