Last Friday, a jury ordered Samsung to pay $1 billion for copying Apple's iPhones and iPads.
"The decision could essentially force (Samsung) and other smartphone makers to redesign their products to be less Apple-like, or risk further legal defeats," The New York Times reported.
Some technology experts decried the ruling as a blow to consumers, leading to fewer choices and higher prices. Others say it will finally force Apple's competitors to come up with their own innovations.
Steven Osinski, a marketing lecturer at San Diego State University, told KPBS that after the jury answered more than 700 questions on technical subjects, it found Samsung's icons looked too much like Apple's and that Samsung techniques like the "pinch screen" were too similar to those used on Apple devices.
Osinski said the dilemma, then, is "how many really innovative ideas, that are totally distinctive and innovative, can any smartphone manufacturer actually pursue when you have a limited space of the screen, and there's only so many things that people who are computer savvy could utilize?"
He added most of the industry expects Samsung to appeal the decision.
Apple is now asking a judge to ban the sale of eight Samsung phones, including the Galaxy S2 and Droid Charge.
Osinski said he does not expect that ban to happen and said "above all else, this is a psychological victory for Apple."
He said if Samsung does not appeal the patent infringement decision, it may have to send "modified software code" out to their phone users that would change the appearance on their phones.
But, he said, he does not expect this will happen right away.
