A jury has decided Samsung must pay Apple $539 million in damages for illegally copying some of the iPhone's features to lure people into buying its competing products. The verdict reached Thursday is the latest twist in a legal battle that began in 2011, the AP reports. Apple contends Samsung wouldn't have emerged as the world's leading seller of smartphones if it hadn't ripped off the technology powering the pioneering iPhone in developing a line of similar devices running on Google's Android software. Previous rulings had already determined that Samsung infringed on some of Apple's patents, but the amount of damages owed has been hanging in legal limbo.
Apple had argued it was owed more than $1 billon while Samsung contended the $399 million figure from an earlier ruling should be slashed to $28 million. The revised damages figure represents a victory for Apple, even though it isn't as much as the Cupertino, Calif., company had sought. An eight-person jury came up with the new amount following a one-week trial and four days of deliberation in a San Jose, Calif., federal courthouse. Apple expressed gratitude to the jury for agreeing "that Samsung should pay for copying our products." Samsung said it was looking at its options to "obtain an outcome that does not hinder creativity and fair competition for all companies and consumers."
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