Jury rules that Samsung should pay Apple $539 million

In a patent case that started about seven years ago, a jury in a United States District Court in the city of San Jose in California has decided that Samsung should pay an amount of $539 million for infringing on no less than five patents owned by its fierce rival Apple. The South Korean tech giant is said to have infringed on these patents with the Android powered mobile devices it had released back in 2010 to 2011.

The $539 million ruling is actually just about half of what Apple is demanding -- the iPhone maker wants its competitor to pay a billion dollars (just for the record, the exact amount is $1,072,453,256). Samsung, on the other hand, is arguing that it should only pay around $28 million. No, that is not a typo -- the South Korean mobile manufacturer is arguing that it should only be made to pay an amount based on the profits generated from the specific components tied to the five patents, and not based on the profits generated from the sales of each mobile device it had released between 2010 to 2011.

With regards to the $539 million amount eventually decided by the jury, $533,316,606 of it will be paid by Samsung for infringing on three design patents held by Apple. As for the remaining $5,325,050, it will be paid for the infringement of a couple of utility patents. 

Samsung had already been found to have infringed on Apple’s patents. This latest ruling was to determine just how much the company will be paying for the patent infringements. Prior to this, Samsung has already paid $548 million, and it is arguing that the $399 million it still has to pay be reconsidered in this most recent trial, and be reduced to a more favorable amount (like $28 million).

Unfortunately for Samsung, it now faces a bigger sum. It goes without saying that the company is far from being happy with the proceedings. As expressed by John Quinn, Samsung’s attorney, to United States District Court Judge Lucy Koh, the verdict issued by the eight person jury is not supported by the evidence. Quinn has indicated that Samsung will move to have some issues addressed in post trial motions. In a statement, Apple has this to say, “We believe deeply in the value of design, and our teams work tirelessly to create innovative products that delight our customers. This case has always been about more than money. Apple ignited the smartphone revolution with iPhone and it is a fact that Samsung blatantly copied our design. It is important that we continue to protect the hard work and innovation of so many people at Apple.”