Apple and Samsung continue to litigate allegations of patent infringement in the United States and in international courts as well. In the United States, the momentum seems to have shifted recently in Apple’s favor. Both companies recently convinced the U.S. International Trade Commission that the other company had infringed the other’s patents, leading to bans of the other’s products. However, the Obama administration ultimately overruled the ban on Apple products, while upholding the ban on Samsung devices.
In the most recent development, a jury within the last week said that Samsung would have to pay Apple an additional $290 million in damages for having sold infringing products. Prior to this most recent damages verdict, a jury determined last year that Samsung had infringed on a series of Apple patents and needed to pay more than $1 billion in damages. But the judge, Lucy Koh of the Federal District Court for Northern California, vacated $450 million of the original award, saying it was unclear how the jury had calculated that portion.
The most recent damages retrial, also overseen by Judge Koh, was granted to ascertain whether Samsung was obligated to pay any of the $450 million that was previously vacated. During its opening statements in the retrial, Apple asked for $379 million in additional damages, while Samsung said it only owed an additional $52 million. In the retrial, lawyers for Apple and Samsung focused on how to calculate the damages: in lost profits or in royalties. In addition to the additional $290 million in damages, the remaining approximately $600 million in damages was left intact by Judge Koh, leaving Samsung liable for a total of $890 million.
After the verdict, Apple said the case “has been about innovation and the hard work that goes into inventing products that people love. While it’s impossible to put a price tag on those values, we are grateful to the jury for showing Samsung that copying has a cost.”
Although this verdict settles one case between the two tech giants, 2014 promises to be another litigious year for both companies as they are involved with more than a dozen additional pending patent infringement cases around the world.
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