Final verdict: Samsung to pay Apple $539 million in damages
According to a federal court verdict in San Jose, California, Samsung has to pay Apple $539 million as damages in a long-running patent infringement case. In 2011, Apple had accused Samsung of infringing upon the former's three design patents and two utility patents, and the jury has upheld the allegation. With the ruling, the seven-year-old dispute seems to be finally coming to an end.
Apple patents that were infringed upon
The design and utility patents in question included iPhone aspects like rounded corners, front rim of the display, app grid layout of the iOS home screen, using two fingers to zoom in and out, quick links to phone numbers, slide-to-unlock feature, and the auto-correct function.
The jury went halfway between what Samsung and Apple wanted
Earlier, Apple was seeking $1 billion from Samsung as compensation while the latter was trying to get the settlement amount down to $28 million. While Apple claimed that the amount of $1 billion was equivalent to the profit Samsung made using its designs, Samsung argued that damages should be based on profits from individual infringing components, and not on total smartphone sales.
The two companies after the lawsuit verdict
Apple said, "We believe deeply in the value of design, and our teams work tirelessly to create innovative products that delight our customers. This case has always been about more than money." Samsung said, "We will consider all options to obtain an outcome that does not hinder creativity and fair competition for all companies and consumers."
The legal dispute dates back to 2011
In 2011, Apple first sued Samsung. In 2012, the jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple $1.05 billion. In 2015, Samsung brought down the compensation to $548 million. In 2016, the case went to the US Supreme Court and Samsung has been since trying to further reduce its penalty. The complex trial highlights the value that design patents can hold in the tech industry.
