[Techtaffy Newsdesk]

Apple emerged victorious in a widely watched and bitterly contested legal battle with electronics giant Samsung, over intellectual property rights and patents infringement.

A federal jury in California found Samsung guilty of ‘wilful’ violations, and recommended that the jury pay over a billion dollars in damages to Apple. The initial recommendations were lowered after a second round of deliberations by the jury, when Lucy Koh, the presiding judge pointed out inconsistencies in the verdict.

The award is one of the biggest ever in a patents case, and the verdict sets a legal precedent and can alter the direction future mobile devices may take.

[Image courtesy: Apple]