Apple's message is that it only pursued Samsung because they so blatantly copied them. I think they have a good point on the copying part; IMO, it was more than 'being inspired by the iPad'. Only time will tell whether the former is true.
And yes, I agree that it would be better if patents on how things look and feel would not have played a role in this case.
That's what they say, but realistically Samsung is the most successful Android vendor and thus the biggest threat to Apple.
The lawsuit found the Nexus S to be at fault. That's a device running vanilla Android, co-developed with Google.
Let's not pretend this is "only" about Samsung's designs vs Apple's designs. They won win patents that would cause all Android devices to infringe, as far as I can tell.
I think it would be helpful to consider how it is that Samsung became the most successful Android vendor.
Edit: downvotes... you guys honestly think that the reason why Samsung has been successful is because of touchwiz? Most people don't even like Samsung's modifications to stock Android. It was stupid of them to make the changes they did, and they deserve a fine, but it certainly didn't help them much in terms of sales.
But above all, their marketing and advertising strategy was unparalleled. I saw a Galaxy ad literally on every road, every TV show, every soccer match and what not! The success was not surprising given how much they effort they put.
Because they make some of the highest performance, lightest, thinnest phones with the best screens?