Apple and Samsung back in court over patent damages

Apple and Samsung are returning to court in one of the most high-profile patent battles of recent times.

In August 2012, a jury foudownload (1)nd Samsung guilty of infringing six Apple patents and awarded one of the largest payouts of its kind on record.

The verdict and $1bn (£626m) awarded in damages were seen as a massive victory for Apple.

This is just one of many patent cases the two companies are fighting in courtrooms across the world.

In March 2013, a judge re-examined the $1bn awarded to Apple and reduced the amount saying the damages would need to be assessed at a new trial.

Judge Lucy Koh said the original jury in the court in California had incorrectly calculated part of the damages.

The judge said that $550m of the award had been worked out in the proper manner but she ordered that the remaining $450m be reassessed.

That $450m could be increased or lowered meaning that Apple could conceivably end up with more than the original $1bn awarded at the first trial.

Apple had originally sought $2.5bn in damages from Samsung.

Apple claimed that Samsung copied elements of its user interface on its iPad and iPhone devices

It argued that the South Korean company had copied its designs for the bodies of the original iPhone and iPad as well as user-interface elements such as the bounce-back response when a person scrolls beyond the end of list and tap-to-zoom.

Samsung argued it was already working on rounded rectangular handsets dominated by a screen and a single button months before the iPhone was revealed. It sought $519m in damages from Apple.

-BBC


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