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Samsung to pay Apple $290 million for infringement

  • Samsung ordered to pay after two year long lawsuit
  • Dispute over design and function
  • Litigation still not over
Written by Katarina Matic
22/11/2013

A Californian jury has reached the verdict that Samsung should pay Apple $290 million (AU $311.74 million) for patent infringement.

It has been a tumultuous two years for the two electronics giants. In 2011 Apple filed their first lawsuit against Samsung claiming that the South Korean manufacturer had created smartphones and tablets that infringed on Apple’s patents.

The legal battle spanned 10 different countries and involved more than 50 different lawsuits. Both parties claimed patent infringement and millions of dollars’ worth of damages. The litigation had come to be known as the “smartphone patent wars”.

Apple argued that Samsung copied vital aspects of the iPhone and iPad. In particular they believed the Samsung Nexus S, Epic 4G, Galaxy S 4G, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab infringed on varies Apple patents and trademarks. Infringement claims varied from the look and design of the products to the way the products functioned.

Prominent points of dispute have been interface functions such as the iPhone’s “Bounce-Back Effect”, “On-screen Navigation” and “Tap To Zoom”; as well as physical design aspects like the home button, rounded corners and tapered edges.

Last year, a US jury found Samsung guilty of patent infringement and was ordered to pay Apple $1.049 billion in damages. The jury found that around 26 Samsung devices had infringed on Apple’s patented interface functions and device design.

However, following an appeal by Samsung, it was found the amount of damages awarded was incorrectly calculated. This week, a jury found Samsung liable for a lesser amount of damages: $290 million. Apple has pushed for $380 million, while Samsung had been hoping for $52 million.

Like the previous verdict, it is expected that Samsung will appeal this new one. Meanwhile a third US trial has already been scheduled for March next year. Apple will claim that Samsung has infringed on their designs once again with their latest devices that are in the market.
It is unclear when the matter will be fully resolved and whether both parties will ever agree to settlement. Apple released the following statement regarding the drawn out litigation. “For Apple, this case has always been about more than patents and money. It 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.”

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