Matti Robinson
14 Jan 2017 14:20
Remember six years ago when Apple and Samsung were in court because of the claims that Samsung had copied iPhone's design and thus infringed on Apple's patents. Well, that case is still ongoing as the Supreme Court throws it back to the Court of Appeals.
Earlier this week the U.S. Supreme Court released documents saying it couldn't determine whether the reimbursement previous court ruled would be correct in the case. Thus it decided to put it on Court of Appeals to figure out how much Samsung owes Apple.
For a long time it hasn't been a debate whether Samsung abused Apple's design patents but instead the fight continues about how much they should pay Apple. Previous judgment of $399 million in damages was now overturned by Supreme Court because it wasn't sure that calculating the figures straight from Samsung's profits was right in this case.
Apple's view is that the blatant copying of patented features is stealing and needs to be punished accordingly. The Cupertino giant, as well as fashion designers rooting for the company, have made the point that design makes, and sells the product. Samsung wants the courts to determine the damages from certain components that infringed the patents, which, lets be honest, is going to be hard to calculate.
We'll get back to you in 2029 when the final decision has been made.