Apple wins sweeping victory over Samsung, awarded over $1 billion in damages

A U.S. jury has handed Apple a sweeping victory in its legal battle with Samsung, ruling that the Korean company had copied key features of the iPhone and iPad and awarding Apple over $1 billion in damages.

The verdict could lead to an outright ban on sales of key Samsung products and will likely solidify Apple's dominance of the exploding mobile computing market.

Other companies that sell smartphones based on Google's Android operating system may now face further legal challenges from Apple.

ITV News reporter Martha Fairlie reports:

The jury deliberated for less than three days before delivering the verdict on seven Apple patent claims and five Samsung patent claims - suggesting that the panel had little difficulty in concluding that Samsung had copied the iPhone and the iPad.

Apple's charges that Samsung copied its designs and features are widely viewed as an attack on Google Inc and its Android software, which drives Samsung's devices and has become the most-used mobile software.

Lawyers from both companies used their 25 hours each of trial time to present internal emails, draw testimony from designers and experts, and put on product demonstrations to convince the jury.

From the beginning, Apple's strategy was to present what it thought was chronological evidence of Samsung copying its phone, accusing Samsung of taking shortcuts after realizing it could not keep up.

Earlier this week, ITV's Consumer editor Chris Choi outlined each company's claims: