Samsung Ordered to Pay Apple $539 Million for Infringing iPhone Patents

A jury has unanimously determined that Samsung must pay Apple $539 million for infringing five patents in a legal battle that has spanned seven years, reports CNET.

Most of the damages, $533,316,606, are for infringing on three iPhone design patents while the remaining $5,325,050, are for infringing on two utility patents.

Samsung argued that a penalty of $28 million was appropriate and Apple was looking for $1.07 billion in damages.


Apple believes Samsung's stance would mean a carmaker could build something just like a Volkswagen Beetle but then pay damages only based on the outside shell, but Samsung thinks Apple's stance would mean a company infringing a cupholder design would have to pay patents on an entire car. Samsung didn't fight Apple's suggested $5.3 million penalty for infringing two utility patents.

The jury awarded damages that were roughly half way between what both companies were looking for which will help establish the importance of design patents in the tech industry.

The three design patents in the case were:

● US Patent No. D618,677 (D'677) which describes a black, rectangular, round-cornered front face for an electronic device
● US Patent No. D593,087 (D'087) which describes a similar rectangular round-cornered front face plus the surrounding bezel
● US Patent No. D604,305 (D'305) which describes a colorful grid of icons


More details at the link below...

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