There’s been a new development in the long-running feud between Apple and Samsung, as the Korean tech giant prepares to take the recent verdict in Apple’s favor back before the courts. In a jury-led decision near the end of May. Samsung was ordered to pay Apple $539 million in damages as the result of a patent infringement case stemming from way back in 2011. Samsung appears not to have given up on its fight to prove that it is innocent of the infringement allegations and is now arguing that the amount of damages set is too high. That’s based on a post-verdict motion the company filed with US District Court in San Jose just after proceedings came to an end. Furthermore, the company is requesting in a second motion that it be paid back for an earlier payment to Apple of $146 million for an invalidated touchscreen patent. That figure would include interest accrued if Samsung can successfully argue its case and would significantly reduce the amount it owes.
The company’s appeal seems to be on the basis that the case will set a precedent for others moving forward. Namely, Samsung claims that the ruling flies in direct opposition to a Supreme Court judgment regarding the scope of possible damages and could place an undue burden on competition and creativity in the mobile industry. The case itself was brought by Apple and centers around designs used back in 2010 through 2011 with regard to both software and hardware aspects of Apple’s iOS devices. A total of five aspects were considered, whittled down from a much higher number earlier on in the case. Those include patents associated with aesthetic design, in addition to two patents related to how the iPhone-specific features functioned. Samsung’s primary goal over that time has been to prove that smartphone design centers solely around the components of a phone.
The courts ultimately ruled that Apple’s design patents were valid and infringed. That news was not all bad for Samsung since the iPhone manufacturer had initially asked for damages to be awarded in excess of $2.5 billion. Regardless, this case seems as though it still isn’t about to end anytime soon. As of this writing, neither company has released any comments regarding the latest turn of events, and the courts have not responded to the appeal filing.