Jury orders Samsung to Pay Apple $290 Million for Patent Violation
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In the damages retrial between Apple and Samsung, Jury has reached a verdict and ordered the South Korean technology giant to pay Apple $290 million for violating patent rights.
The jury deliberated for nearly two days in a week-long trial, before reaching a decision on Thursday in a San Jose, California federal court. Apple had argued that it deserved $379.8m because it had lost a huge number of sales after Samsung’s smartphones allegedly copied Apple’s patents. However, Samsung argued that it should have to pay only @52.7m because the features at issue were not the reasons why customers chose Samsung devices over Apple devices.
In August last year, a California Jury determined that Samsung owed Apple $1.05 million for copyright infringement. However, US District Judge Lucy Koh later vacated the claim saying that jury miscalculated the amount Samsung must pay.
The jury’s verdict covers 13 of the 26 Samsung devices that Apple had argued infringed its patents. These devices are mostly older Samsung smartphones and tablets. Samsung was found to have violated Apple patents, including one that allows users to ‘pinch and zoom’ on their screens.
Apple cited in a statement: “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.” They furthermore added, “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.”
However, Samsung lawyer William Price cited in the jury proceedings,” Apple doesn’t own beautiful and sexy.” He vehemently argued that Apple should not have ownership over what Samsung said was the “basic rectangle” shape of smartphones.
Samsung is expected to appeal this judgment.
The size of the award is not going to pinch either of the Tech Giants, who has been rivaling to win the supremacy of the $300 billion worldwide market. However, the judgment did give another win to Apple’s continuing fight for the protection of patent rights.