Samsung Have Been Ordered To Pay $539m For Copying iPhone Features

So who makes better phones, Samsung or Apple? We all know an Apple die-hard who'll claim the tech giant's design, interface and software are all better, while buying wholesale into the Steve Jobs mythology. And yet Samsung haven't been shy about suggesting the opposite might be true...

In truth, there's probably not much between them - and that might just be because the South Korean company copied some of Apple's technology.

That, at any rate, is what a jury decided after almost five days of deliberation, which led them to back Apple's claim that their rival had copied some of the technology they'd used to create the iPhone for their own products.

Not that Samsung are taking that verdict lying down, of course.

"Today's decision flies in the face of a unanimous Supreme Court ruling in favour of Samsung on the scope of design patent damages," said Samsung in a statement.

"We will consider all options to obtain an outcome that does not hinder creativity and fair competition for all companies and consumers."

This latest development is part of an ongoing legal saga between the two tech giants, one that began in 2011. Back then, Apple were after $2.5 billion (£1.87 billion), and were awarded about $1 billion (£750 million) by a jury the following year.

But then an appeal court decided that Apple couldn't lay claim to the iPhone's appearance - which, given that every smartphone has basically appropriated it, must have been galling for Apple.

Especially as after that decision, the amount Samsung was asked to pay was just $548m (£328m).

That's still much more than Samsung believes it owes, however. The company thinks it only need to pay for the parts they used - a tacit admission it did copy Apple's technology? - and not damages equivalent to profits from the iPhone. As such, the amount Samsung is willing to pay is $28m (£21m).

Needless to say, that's probably not going to fly with Apple, so expect more legal altercations to continue. Nevertheless, the company welcomed the jury's decision.

"Samsung should pay for copying our products," a statement read. "This case has always been about more than money.

"Apple ignited the smartphone revolution with iPhone and it is a fact that Samsung blatantly copied our design."