Recap: Apple wins partial victory in round 2 against Samsung

The jury in Apple vs. Samsung round 2 reached a verdict on Friday, and while Apple came out on top again in its second case against its smartphone competitor, the award was nowhere near as large—or as decisive—as it was the last time the two companies met in court.

What was the fuss over, anyway

Apple claimed that Samsung infringed on five of its patents in nine phone models and one tablet, as IDG News Service’s Martyn Williams points out, and asked for $2.2 billion in damages. 

Samsung filed a counter-claim alleging patent infringement on Apple’s part, and sought a $6 million award. (Williams notes that Samsung’s relatively small damages claim was a protest of sorts—the company tried to make the point that patent infringement claims shouldn’t amount to hundreds of millions–or billions—of dollars.)
The trial took about a month, as the San Jose Mercury News points out, and the jury deliberated for four days before agreeing on a verdict.

What’d Apple get out of it

The company won a total of $119.6 million, a small percentage of the $2.2 billion in damages it was seeking, and much smaller than the $929 million it won in an earlier court battle with the company.
The relatively small award is due in part to the fact that Apple did not win on each of its claims. As Martyn Williams points out, “It was only for U.S. Patent 5,946,647, which covers quick links that add contextual menus to items like phone numbers and email addresses, that it found all Samsung products infringed.” 
The jury found no infringement for two of Apple’s patent claims, and gave Apple a partial victory on its claim that Samsung violated its patent for the “Slide to unlock” lock screen.
As for the fifth patent, the Mercury News points out that a Federal Judge had previously found infringement on Samsung’s part, so the jury only needed to determine damages.

Samsung won something too, right

Yes. The jury awarded Samsung $158,400 in damaged after finding that Apple infringed a Samsung patent that related to organizing a combination of photos and videos on smartphones and tablets. 

What’s next

An appeal on Samsung’s part, probably. The company previously appealed the jury’s ruling in the earlier Apple vs. Samsung case—an appeal that’s still working its way through the courts, as the Mercury News notes.