Samsung shares fall after jury orders $1bn in damages

Shares of Samsung Electronics have suffered their biggest fall in a single day, in almost four years, after a US jury found the technology giant copied designs from Apple.

The South Korean company's shares fell almost 7% in Seoul trading, the most since October 2008.

The company was ordered to pay $1.05bn (£665m) in damages to Apple, in one of the most significant rulings in a global intellectual property battle.

Samsung will appeal the verdict.

Analysts said investors were worried that the ruling could affect revenues.

"The context of the loss in this case is a lot worse than had been expected," said Song Myung-Sup from Hi Investment and Securities.

He added that if the ruling lead to a sales ban in the key US market for Samsung it would hurt earnings.

Jury ruling

A nine-member jury in San Jose, California ruled on 24 August that Samsung had infringed patents for mobile devices.

It was the the most closely-watched of many similar patent disputes being contested in courts around the world between electronics manufacturers.

In recent weeks, a court in South Korea ruled that both Apple and Samsung had copied each other, while a British court dismissed claims by the American company that Samsung had infringed its copyrights.