Apple ruling redraws battle lines

The verdict in Apple’s battle with Samsung over smartphone design patents will -- if Samsung is to be believed -- usher in an era of iPhone dominance in the “post-PC” world.

Samsung, the biggest technology company in the world by revenues, responded forcefully to the Californian jury’s verdict that it had infringed all but one of the patents Apple has asserted against it, calling it “a loss for the American consumer [that] will lead to fewer choices, less innovation, and potentially higher prices.” “Samsung is already more consciously avoiding copying,” says Horace Dediu, mobile analyst at Asymco. “The result is mostly symbolic but management at Samsung and other companies will perhaps hesitate more and be more fearful.” Yet if the short term is fraught with uncertainty and risk for Apple’s rivals, longer term some see Apple’s legal victory hurting it, as its rivals are spurred to create more novel devices. “In the short to intermediate term, an Apple win forcing competitors to come up with different designs should be positive because Apple is a better designer and could have a monopoly on key features,” said analysts at UBS in a note last week. “In the long run, however, it could hurt Apple because the real threat is not a competitor beating Apple at its own game but instead changing the game. The likelihood of Apple being leapfrogged or a rival creating a new category is greater if they have to think out of the box.”