"The introduction of the iPhone literally changed the nature of the telephone," said McElhinny. "In 2004, when this project started, it was considered extraordinarily risky. Apple was a computer company-it had no phones. It was going to invest this time to come up with a product that would compete with some of the biggest companies in the world: Motorola, Nokia, and Samsung."
But only Samsung chose to pursue a path of "intentional copying," McElhinny told the jury, blowing off Apple's patent rights in a desperate attempt to play catch-up.
For that, Apple is seeking what would be the largest jury award ever in a patent case: more than $2 billion for the sale of 37 million allegedly infringing phones. It's an extraordinary rate of about $40 per phone and a considerable escalation in the long-running patent war between the two smartphone leaders.
