Apple wins $US290m from Samsung in patent retrial
PUBLISHED: 22 Nov 2013 07:51:27 | UPDATED: 23 Nov 2013 03:48:54PUBLISHED: 22 Nov 2013 PRINT EDITION: 22 Nov 2013
Apple attorney Harold McElhinney questions Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Apple on the stand in front of US Judge Lucy Koh. Photo: Reuters
A US jury on Thursday awarded Apple $US290.45 million in a damages retrial against Samsung Electronics, the latest battle in global patent litigation between the two mobile giants.
The verdict was announced in a San Jose, California, federal court. Apple had requested $US379.8 million, while Samsung argued that it should have to pay $US52.7 million.
A Samsung representative could not immediately comment on the verdict. Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said it was grateful to the jury for imposing costs on Samsung, though the case has been about more than money for the company.
“It has been about innovation and the hard work that goes into inventing products that people love,” Huguet said.
Apple and Samsung have been fighting in the courts for over two years. Last year, Apple was awarded over $US1 billion after it convinced a jury that Samsung copied various iPhone features — like using fingers to pinch and zoom on the screen — along with design touches like the phone’s flat, black glass screen.
In March US District Judge Lucy Koh upheld about $US600 million of that verdict but ordered a retrial on the rest, ruling that the previous jury had made some errors in its calculations.
Samsung manufactures phones that use the Android operating system, which is developed by Google.
Combined with the retrial verdict of $US290.5 million on Thursday, Apple has now been awarded $US929.8 million in the case.
In addition to the fight over money, Apple is seeking a permanent injunction against several older Samsung phones. Koh had previously rejected such a sales ban, but earlier this week the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ordered her to reconsider.
Nick Rodelli, a lawyer and adviser to institutional investors for CFRA Research in Maryland, said injunctions are much more important in these legal battles than monetary awards. Still, he said, the verdict shows that Apple’s narrative was persuasive to a second jury drawn from Silicon Valley.
“A jury award on the high end of the range is a modestly positive signal for Apple,” Rodelli said.
The case in US District Court, Northern District of California is Apple Inc vs. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, 11-1846. (Reporting by Gerry Shih; Writing by Dan Levine; Editing by Gary Hill and Phil Berlowitz)
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