Samsung plans to appeal $119-million judgment in Apple patent case
Samsung is apparently not content with having escaped its latest patent trial with a verdict that only requires it to pay a fraction of the damages that Apple had requested.
An attorney for Samsung said in a statement that the company plans to ask that the $119 million in damages that jurors ordered the company pay be reduced to $0. Zip. Nada.
“Of course, we’re pleased that the jury awarded Apple 6% of what they were asking for,” said Samsung attorney John Quinn. “But even that can’t stand, because Apple kept out all the real-world evidence and didn’t produce anything to substitute for it, so you have a verdict that’s unsupported by evidence — and that’s just one of its problems.”
Apple has not yet said whether it plans to appeal any part of the verdict or damage award.
Apple had accused Samsung of violating five of its patents. A jury found that Samsung violated two of those patents, while the judge ruled that the company had infringed a third Apple patent.
However, the $119-million award was much less than the $2 billion that Apple had been seeking. In another patent trial between the two companies, a jury awarded Apple $1 billion in damages.
“It’s nominally a win for Apple, but it’s a lot less than they asked for and a lot less than they won last time,” said Mark Lemley, a Stanford Law School professor. “It is entirely possible they spent more in money and time than they have gotten back from this trial. The real question is whether they can use the verdict to get an injunction; that could be more valuable to them.”
In a statement, Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said the jury’s verdict supported the company’s assertion that Samsung had copied Apple’s innovative designs.
“Today’s ruling reinforces what courts around the world have already found: that Samsung willfully stole our ideas and copied our products,” Huguet said. “We are fighting to defend the hard work that goes into beloved products like the iPhone, which our employees devote their lives to designing and delivering for our customers.”
In its own statement, Samsung again rejected Apple’s claims and noted that the jury had also found Apple had infringed Samsung patents.
“We agree with the jury’s decision to reject Apple’s grossly exaggerated damages claim,” the statement said. “Although we are disappointed by the finding of infringement, we are vindicated that for the second time in the U.S., Apple has been found to infringe Samsung’s patents. It is our long history of innovation and commitment to consumer choice that has driven us to become the leader in the mobile industry today.”
Whether the latest decision begins to provide some resolution to the epic patent wars between these two tech giants remains to be seen. Quinn called on Apple to drop its aggressive legal strategy.
“We can keep fighting, or Apple can decide to go back to competing with Samsung in the marketplace,” Quinn said.
