Earlier this month, we learned that Samsung had agreed to pay Apple the damages it owes from a 2012 court decision. We also heard that Samsung was planning to submit an appeal of an Apple design patent to the US Supreme Court, though, and now that’s exactly what’s happened.
Samsung argues that the jury in its case with Apple wasn’t given adequate information on how to interpret the patents presented to it. Samsung is highlighting an Apple design patent, claiming that juries are typically given far less info on how to interpret design patents than they’re given for utility patents. Samsung also says that the way design patent damages are calculated needs to be reexamined because, because a patent holder can sue to take all of a firm’s profits, so a company that’s found to infringe could end up having to pay all of its profits several times over if it violates multiple patents.
In a statement to Re/code, Samsung explained its intentions behind the Supreme Court filing, saying that it “believes that the way the laws were interpreted is not in line with modern times.” The company added that if things don’t change, this legal precedent “could diminish innovation, stifle competition, pave the way for design patent troll litigation, and negatively impact the economy and consumers.”
While Samsung has agreed to pay Apple the $548 million that Apple was awarded from the 2012 case, it noted that it reserves the right to be reimbursed if the decision is reversed, modified, or vacated. Whether or not any of that will actually happen is up to the US Supreme Court, but one thing that we do know is that this Apple-Samsung legal battle — which started in 2011! — looks likely to continue into 2016.
If you want to check out Samsung’s entire 200-page filing for yourself, you can do so at the link below.
