The Apple versus Samsung lawsuit saga has finally come to an end with Apple being awarded $539 million in damages for the settled patent infringement.
It is already settled that Samsung infringed on three Apple design patents which involve the grid of icons on the home screen, the rim that surrounds a handset’s front and the rounded corners of a device. It is also settled that Samsung infringed on two of Apple’s utility patents which are meant to protect how a feature works and is used.
Samsung had argued during the retrial that the value of the infringing components was $28 million and thus it should only have to pay that much. This lawsuit started back in 2012 when Apple sued Samsung for patent infringement. It sought $2.5 billion in damages initially with the verdict awarding the Cupertino company $1.02 billion. The case then made its way through the legal system and Samsung ultimately paid $548 million to Apple in 2015.
This retrial was meant to examine $399 million of the $548 million awarded to Apple following Samsung’s win at the United States Supreme Court. This means Samsung will now have to pay an additional $140 million to Apple.
It had approached the apex court for clarification on whether damages from design patents could be limited to the value of the infringed part instead of the total profit made from the sale of the device. The court agreed with Samsung’s argument that damages can be based only on infringing components as well in some cases.
“Today’s decision flies in the face of a unanimous Supreme Court ruling in favor of Samsung on the scope of design patent damages,” Samsung said in a statement, adding that “We will consider all options to obtain an outcome that does not hinder creativity and fair competition for all companies and consumers.”
You might think that after such a drawn-out legal process Samsung might be willing to call it a day. Far from it. John Quinn, one of Samsung’s lawyers, told the judge that the verdict isn’t “supported by evidence” and that this objection will be raised by the company in court filings.
“We believe deeply in the value of design, and our teams work tirelessly to create innovative products that delight our customers,” Apple said in a statement, claiming that for it this case has “always been about more than money.”
Samsung is now going to consider its options and they include post-trial motions as well as an appeal. There should be more clarity on its course of action in this matter over the next few weeks.
