Samsung Pays $290 Million to Apple

 

Samsung Pays $290 Million to Apple

 

Samsung Electronics pays $290 million more to Apple for violating patents, putting an end to one chapter in the long-running patent struggle between the two tech companies.

The six-woman, two-man jury calculated the damages based on 13 products that infringed Apple’s patents. They determined that two smartphones incurred the heftiest damages: Samsung’s Infuse 4G, at about $100 million, and the Droid Charge, at $60 million.

While the price tag will not significantly affect either company’s pocketbooks — they are two of the most profitable companies in the technology industry — the ruling did give Apple another victory in the companies’ continuing legal fight.

[blockquote cite=”Lauren Restuccia – Samsung”] We are disappointed by today’s decision. While we move forward with our post-trial motions and appeals, we will continue to innovate with groundbreaking technologies and great products that are loved by our many customers all around the world.
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Apple argued in the most recent trial that it deserved $379.8 million because it missed out on large amounts of profit after Samsung’s smartphones entered the market. Samsung contended that Apple should get much less, $52 million.

Apple’s lawyer, Harold J. McElhinny, showed an internal Samsung document to highlight that employees had acknowledged that the battle in the mobile industry was a “two-horse race” between Apple and Samsung. Therefore, he said, many sales made to Samsung most likely could have gone to Apple.

[blockquote cite=”Samsung’s lawyer – Bill Price”] Apple was not entitled to lost profits because people had bought Samsung phones for reasons unrelated to the features covered by patents, like the fact that some Samsung phones had bigger screens and that Samsung’s phones and tablets were generally cheaper than Apple’s.
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Apple and Samsung continue to fight in courts around the world. In the United States, the tide has shifted in Apple’s favor. Both companies persuaded the United States International Trade Commission that the other had violated patents, resulting in bans on each other’s products.

The two companies are scheduled for another trial in March 2014. That trial will involve a different set of Apple patents and some newer products, including Samsung’s popular Galaxy S III — a smartphone that at one point surpassed the iPhone in sales.