Apple Awarded $539 Million In Damages From Samsung In Patent Battle

The Apple vs Samsung patent war that started in 2011 has experienced a new twist, with a jury revising the amount Apple was awarded from its original $1 billion to about half that amount. Apple has ultimately been awarded $539 million in damages, that following around four days of jury deliberation. The ruling brings to a close seven years of legal fighting.

The patent battle started in April 2011 when Apple accused Samsung of infringing some of its patents and trademarks with certain smartphone models. A little over a year later, a jury awarded more than $1 billion to Apple, paving the way for years of legal hassle.

Samsung, unhappy with that, dragged the matter through court and a ruling was ultimately made to revisit $399 million of that billion-dollar figure. The issue involved five patents, and the infringement happened with select Samsung phones sold in 2010 and 2011. Samsung had argued for damages of $28 million, down from the $399 million and a huge decrease from Apple's $1 billion.

The jury ended up siding closer to Apple than Samsung in the matter, ultimately awarding $533,316,606 over design patents and another $5,325,050 in utility patents. Despite the decrease, this is a major victory for Apple; the retrial was set to reconsider $399 million from Samsung.

Apple, to no one's surprise, praised the decision, saying Samsung has "blatantly copied" its patents. Samsung had already been found guilty of infringement; this retrial simply brought to close a decision about how much it will pay over it.

SOURCE: Venture Beat