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APPLE NEWS
Apple and Samsung are back
in court to resume their long-
standing patent battle in San
Jose, CA.
Dating back to 2011, the
dispute between the two tech
giants began over an alleged
patent infringement covering
the original iPhone. The U.S.
Supreme Court ruled in favor
of Apple in 2012, noting that
Samsung imitated elements
of the iPhone's design on its
Epic, Gem, Captivate and
Vibrant devices.
The official verdict determined
that Samsung infringed
on three of Apple's iPhone
patents, the rectangular front
face, rounded edges and the
grid icons on a black screen
on their now discontinued
phones.
Today's ruling however is
to reevaluate the amount
Samsung must pay Apple in
financial damages. Apple was
awarded $1.5 billion by the
jury during the first trial back
in 2012 but the amount was
quickly reduced after errors
were found in the original
calculations.
During a retrial in 2013, Apple
was awarded $290 million
but Samsung appealed the
decision to the Supreme
Court, arguing that the
damages from a single design
patent would amount to the
product's entire profits. In
2016, a second retrial saw the
Supreme Court siding with
Samsung this time around,
stating that damages should
be based on the value of
the components that were
infringed upon, not the entire
product.
"In the case of a multi-
component product,
the relevant 'article of
manufacture' for arriving at a
§289 damages award need
not be the end product sold
to the consumer but may
be only a component of that
product," said Justice Sonia
Sotomayor according to
official transcripts.
"Under the former
interpretation, a patent holder
will always be entitled to the
infringer's total profit from the
end product. Under the latter
interpretation, a patent holder
will sometimes be entitled
to the infringer's total profit
from a component of the end
product."
Although Apple continues to
seek full profits from the sales
of the infringing phones, this
retrial is expected to identify
the amount of damages owed
based on value of the features
provided by the patents.
"We welcome the District
Court's decision for a
new trial. This is a historic
opportunity to determine how
the U.S. Supreme Court's
guidance on design patent
damages will be implemented
in our case and future cases"
said Samsung's official
statement in 2017.
Currently, Apple and Samsung
remain the world largest
smartphone makers. In the
latest data provided by the
global market intelligence firm
IDC, Apple has dethroned the
Korean giant, surpassing it in
the worldwide smartphone
market.
The latest retrial is expected
to last five days, with the
jury to be selected Monday
and opening arguments to
follow Tuesday with neither
company's CEOs expected to
make court appearances.
BY RICARDO SOLTERO
SAMSUNG AND APPLE HEAD BACK
TO COURT OVER IPHONE DESIGN
