U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Samsung's Appeal of $548 Million Settlement Paid to Apple

[MacRumors]

A nearly five-year-old design patent trial between Apple and Samsung has reached a new level, as the U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to hear Samsung's appeal of a lower court decision that ordered the South Korean electronics maker to pay a $548 million settlement to its Cupertino-based rival in December.

According to Reuters, Samsung plans to appeal what it believes are "excessive penalties" for allegedly "copying the patented designs of the iPhone," including the smartphone's rounded rectangular bezel and colorful grid of icons. The 2011 lawsuit targeted select Galaxy-branded smartphones and tablets.

Samsung has already paid the $548 million settlement to Apple, but it can obtain reimbursement if the U.S. Supreme Court reverses or modifies the original judgment. Apple had urged the high court to deny the appeal, accusing Samsung of raising issues that do not "deserve review" in an effort to prolong court proceedings.

The appeal will likely delay a damages retrial that was scheduled to begin later this month in the Northern District of California, according to FOSS Patents.

Article Link: U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Samsung's Appeal of $548 Million Settlement Paid to Apple

 

[iZac]

Jeez, will this never end?

I think Samsung would appeal a $10 judgment if it gets to that.

Also, does that mean we can splice together some puppy justice?

 

[navaira]

Again?

Haven't they spent more than $548 million on the lawyers in the meantime?

 

[MBadagliacco]

OK, they have lost their case, so it is no longer necessary to use the term "allegedly"!

 

[Gildarts]

Wouldn't blame them.

Of all the court cases they fought the only time Apple won was in the US (what's Apple's home territory again?).
And they needed the help of the president to get that done.

I feel for Samsung. Quite an injustice.

 

[Tirka]

Wouldn't blame them.

Of all the court cases they fought the only time Apple won was in the US (what's Apple's home territory again?).
And they needed the help of the president to get that done.

I feel for Samsung. Quite an injustice.

This comment you post is really stupid,Samsung is a copy cat we all know .If you steal people's ideas that's what happens .They deserve to pay more then that amount

 

[Sleepwalker71]

But this time verdict may be against Apple. Just to show who is at the helm.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

This was an unexpected development. I figured the Supreme Court had something better to do than this.

 

[cfedu]

This was an unexpected development. I figured the Supreme Court had something better to do than this.

The fact that they are seeing the case means they may think the law is being interrupted wrong or think they should make new law. The fact that they will hear case, means that there is a need for more clarity.

 

[macfacts]

OK, they have lost their case, so it is no longer necessary to use the term "allegedly"!

So only Apple can appeal court orders and Samsung can't?

 

[Bigsk8r]

I sure hope the Supreme Court doesn't have the FBI's case in the back of their minds and decides to use this as a "shot across the bow" of Apple. I realize that's a bit conspiracy theory, but nothing would shock me anymore.

 

[aajeevlin]

I honestly have no idea how all this work. But for the lawyers on the forum, when will this ACTUALLY END?? When do you get to a point where you actually have to pay something?

 

[Sevanw]

I've got a very good feeling Samsung wins this. Rightfully so.

 

[bsolar]

OK, they have lost their case, so it is no longer necessary to use the term "allegedly"!

It makes perfectly sense to use "allegedly" in the context of an appeal since it emphasizes the fact that the higher court can still overturn the lower court's sentence.

 

[iOSFangirl6001]

Dear Samsung:
Give it up already. You lost.

 

[69Mustang]

Samsung has a pretty good chance of winning this. A lot of Apple's patents have been invalidated around the world and most recently here at home. Also a bigger issue is the payout calculation. The original award was based on the full device cost. Samsung argues it should have been based on component cost. Ironically, it's the same way Apple thinks it (Apple) should pay in it's cases as well. Can't have it both ways. Like others have said, this has gone on far too long.

 

[Harrycooke]

This is ridiculous. You'd think Samsung would stop copying though if they didn't want to pay out but looking at their most recent offerings, they keep on with their blatant plagiarism, albeit in a cheap way.

 

[kagharaht]

This comment you post is really stupid,Samsung is a copy cat we all know .If you steal people's ideas that's what happens .They deserve to pay more then that amount

We may all think so, but the Supreme Court will probably rule in favor of Samsung. To the US justice system, Apple is like a rotten Apple.

 

[Glideslope]

I sure hope the Supreme Court doesn't have the FBI's case in the back of their minds and decides to use this as a "shot across the bow" of Apple. I realize that's a bit conspiracy theory, but nothing would shock me anymore.

I would not classify you as a Conspiracy Theorist.

 

[raybo]

Well, Samsung and others copied the iPhone concept. However, all computers use colorful icons on a screen. I don't think there's any Apple innovation there, just doing what seems pretty obvious. Also, most cell phones are relatively rectangular - was Samsung supposed to double the thickness, or make a hex-shaped phone?

 

[dk001]

But this time verdict may be against Apple. Just to show who is at the helm.

Reread the issue the Justice's are reviewing. It's not a specific Apple / Samsung. It is strictly the weight of the award vs. the weight of the patent infringed upon to the product. The Apple vs. Samsung case is just the "shell" for this.
This item is one of the better ones they could have picked. It can have far reaching impact on some of the more frivolous suits.

 

[Gildarts]

This comment you post is really stupid,Samsung is a copy cat we all know .If you steal people's ideas that's what happens .They deserve to pay more then that amount

No surprise only the US & it's citizens think so. Not a single judge in Europe concluded that.
You're ironically calling me out on intelligence based on hurt fanboy feelings alone.

Apparently you're smarter than everybody knowledgable on International Intellectual Properly laws and treaties.

Do explain why not a single non-american judge has come to the same conclusion you have oh intelligent one?

You can't have a monopoly on squares and icons. Who's the copy cat by the way? Everybody steals from everybody.

Apple's 'slide-to-unlock' pattern was blown away by European Judges. As well as it's patents on tablet and icon shapes.


This whole court battle is just smoke and mirrors. Designed to smeer Samsung's reputation.

 

[luigiBoschin]

I've got a very good feeling Samsung wins this. Rightfully so.

Lets support the copycats and work against progress and patents!
[doublepost=1458581615][/doublepost]

No surprise only the US & it's citizens think so. Not a single judge in Europe concluded that.
You're ironically calling me out on intelligence based on hurt fanboy feelings alone.

Apparently you're smarter than everybody knowledgable on International Intellectual Properly laws and treaties.

Do explain why not a single non-american judge has come to the same conclusion you have oh intelligent one?

You can't have a monopoly on squares and icons. Who's the copy cat by the way? Everybody steals from everybody.

Apple's 'slide-to-unlock' pattern was blown away by European Judges. As well as it's patents on tablet and icon shapes.


This whole court battle is just smoke and mirrors. Designed to smeer Samsung's reputation.

I live in Europe and you can have the "political" justice free of charge

 

[mi7chy]

Have a feeling Apple is going to lose again like the other apeal because they have no legal leg to stand on with all the invalidated patents.

https://www.macrumors.com/2016/02/26/apple-samsung-appeal/

 

[kdarling]

I honestly have no idea how all this work. But for the lawyers on the forum, when will this ACTUALLY END?? When do you get to a point where you actually have to pay something?

As noted in the article, Samsung already paid Apple. If the appeal fails, Apple keeps the money.

Then they can use it to pay some of the fines they themselves have been assessed for violating other companies' patents. It's the circle of life

This comment you post is really stupid,Samsung is a copy cat we all know .If you steal people's ideas that's what happens .They deserve to pay more then that amount

Really. So you think that Apple should have to pay extra for their own patent violations as well?

Or do you think Apple should only have to pay according to how much each patent actually contributed to the device sales? (An argument Apple makes all the time whenever they're sued.)

Lets support the copycats and work against progress and patents!

It helps to understand what it's all about.

The part of the appeal that the Supreme Court is most interested in, comes from the application in the trial of an old law that allows granting up to ALL of a company's profits for even a single tiny design patent infringement.

In other words, its NOT about unprotecting patents. They will stay protected.

It's about the amount of award that can be given in a modern world, where devices are made up of tens of thousands of patents, not just one or two as when the law was created.

(Do you think it's right that somebody could sue Apple for their entire iPhone profits if they found that Apple used a single one of that person's icons anywhere in iOS? Or should they be awarded the relative value of their icon design to the overall device? Which way makes common sense and is fair?)