[fjtorres]

NBCNEWS analysis:
http://bottomline.nbcnews.com/_news/...out-looks?lite

Intellectual property experts said the decision will push push smartphone and tablet manufacturers to come up with new ideas — and patent them all.

"Every single technology company in the world will be filing every single design patent known to man," said Kevin G. Rivette, managing partner at 3LP Advisors.
While the decision will almost certainly be appealed, it also sets a precedent. It is a shot across the bow that other device manufacturers can’t afford to ignore.

As the plaintiff, it was in Apple’s best interest to make its message easy to digest. For a company that built its brand on making technology simple and pleasant to interact with, this was a natural. Samsung had the burden of wading into more complex territory and hoping jurors would follow along.

That Apple carried the day indicates that its streamlined message resonated more strongly, because patent experts say that design patent infringement, for which Apple was seeking the largest damages, is hard to prove. These patents focus on form over function: how something looks as opposed to what it does.

Apple took the bold and risky tack of arguing that the way its devices look and feel is an integral part of how people use them.

Other smartphone and tablet makers now have to find ways to create devices that don’t resemble the iPhone — no easy feat, given that Apple more or less created the idea in people’s minds of what a smartphone should look like when it debuted the iPhone five years ago.

"It will force innovation," Rivette said, a circumstance that might cause some heartburn for smartphone and tablet manufacturers but will ultimately benefit consumers.

Aside from Apple, the jury's decision creates a few other unlikely winners, including Microsoft, for one. Analysts have said for months that Microsoft must convince consumers that Windows 8 offers a relevant alternative to iOS and Android. The sudden interest in devices that don’t behave like iPhones and iPads coincides almost perfectly with the platform’s debut.

Rivette said the verdict will invigorate technology patent wars, which means companies like Google — which has been in Apple’s crosshairs before and almost certainly will be again — will be scrambling for ammunition. Former tech heavyweights Research in Motion and Eastman Kodak both have vast patent portfolios that suddenly look like a good investment in light of the $1 billion award for damages.