U.S. jury orders smartphone marker Samsung to pay Apple $119.6 mln

By Dan Levine

SAN JOSE Calif. (Reuters) - A U.S. jury on Friday ordered Samsung Electronics Co Ltd to pay $119.6 million to Apple Inc, after it found the South Korean smartphone maker had infringed two Apple patents.

During the month-long trial in a San Jose, California, federal court, Apple accused Samsung of violating patents on smartphone features including universal search, while Samsung denied wrongdoing.

Friday's verdict marked a big loss for the iPhone maker.

Apple and Samsung have been litigating around the world for three years. Jurors awarded the iPhone maker about $930 million after a 2012 trial in San Jose, California, but Apple failed to persuade U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh to issue a permanent injunction against the sale of Samsung phones.

The current case involves five Apple patents that were not in the 2012 trial and that cover iPhone features like slide to unlock and search technology. Apple is again seeking to ban sales of several Samsung phones, including the Galaxy S III, and just over $2 billion in damages.

Samsung also claims that Apple violated two patents on streaming video. It is seeking to ban the iPhone 5, and asserted a $6 million damages claim.

It will be up to Judge Koh to decide if a sales ban is warranted.

The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is Apple Inc vs. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, 12-630.

(Additional reporting by Edwin Chan; Editing by Ken Wills)