The U.S Supreme Court has sided with Samsung in its ongoing battle with Apple over smartphone patent which will potentially save the South Korean smartphone maker $399 million in damages.
The five year long design patent battle between the two tech giants reached Supreme Court in October. Apple had sued Samsung for copying design features of its devices, and other software features. Samsung was ordered to pay Apple $399M for copying the iPhone’s rounded edges, flat screen, and the way in which apps are arranged following which the company filed a request with the Supreme Court asking it to re-examine the decisions made in the patent infringement lawsuit against Apple.
The $399 million won by Apple was based on a percentage of the entire profit Samsung made from its infringing smartphones. However, Samsung argued that instead of calculating the damages on entire profit, they should be based on only part of the profit, as only part of the phone’s design was copied from Apple.
The latest decision from the Supreme Court does not reverse Apple’s win however the case will now be returned to the Federal Circuit to reassess the damages.
[Update] – Samsung has released an official statement on U.S. Supreme Court’s decision.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision today is a victory for Samsung and for all those who promote creativity, innovation and fair competition in the marketplace. We thank our supporters from the world’s leading technology companies, the 50 intellectual property professors, and the many public policy groups who stood with us as we fought for a legal environment that fairly rewards invention and fosters innovation.