“It may take some time for Apple to see any damages from its patent infringement dispute with Samsung Electronics,” John Ribeiro reports for IDG News Service.
“Apple is asking a district court to order Samsung to pay over $548 million in damages, in a long-drawn patent dispute between the two companies that dates back to 2011,” Ribeiro reports. “But Samsung has fired back asking the court to declare invalid the claim of an Apple patent also known as the pinch-to-zoom patent, which figured in the lawsuit, or to stay proceedings.”
“For Apple, the $548 million in damages is just a part of what was originally awarded by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The court awarded Apple damages of $930 million after a jury found that Samsung infringed Apple’s design and utility patents and diluted its trade dresses, which relate to the overall look and packaging of a product,” Ribeiro reports. “But the appeals court reversed the jury’s findings that the asserted trade dresses are protectable, and vacated the damages relating to trade dress dilution. That order shaved off $382 million in damages but $548 million still remained.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The swiftness of “justice” continues to astound. The Samsung slime buckets could pay Apple $5.48 billion and it still wouldn’t be enough to cover what they’ve stolen.
And Apple uses Samsung parts?
I know, it’s uncanny, there really must not be a more viable supplier. Hopefully that changes.
I’m not surprised, but a friend of mine in the appliance business told me recently that Samsung and LG did the same copying thing to the US appliance manufacturers. Just copycats.
Uncanny x Inexplicable √
Actually, Apple uses Samsung to manufacture Apple parts. I know of no Samsung designed, developed and manufactured parts in an iPhone (there are some, like memory chips, used in other Apple products).
The most interesting thing is recently a former TSMC (and then current Samsung) employee was found by the Taiwan courts to have given TSMC trade secrets to Samsung. These secrets helped Samsung advance its processes and lower its costs so Samsung could capture contracts for things like Apple’s upcoming A9 processor.
And, what was the court’s decision as to the penalty? Simply that Samsung had to let the guy go temporarily and cannot have this person as a direct employee until 1 January 2016. No other penalty or restriction!
Then, what was the ever devious Samsung’s response? They had a local university hire the person as an instructor of a class, which Samsung’s personnel could attend. This way neither Samsung nor the person violated the exact letter of the ruling, but the person could continue to teach Samsung personnel all about how TSMC does things in every detail possible.
All companies cheat and steal to some extent — all of them, even Apple. Apple *may* do it the least of any major international company. But, it is extremely clear to any and all — even the MOST casual observer — that Samsung is the worst of them all!
All wheels have to be round. That is not stealing. Making a belt of steel vs nylon is innovation. Coping the use of steal but making the pattern radial vs bias is not stealing but innovating.
Changing from one type of steal to another is stealing.
And yes some times it’s hard to tell, even for juries.
I find great humor in watching one beat another with the other’s own stick.
Whilst I’m no lover of Samsung and its somewhat shonky attitude to basic business ethics, I do wish MDN would stop using the word ‘convicted’ in the context of patent disputes.
In a civil case – like a patent dispute – there is no concept of ‘conviction’, but instead a civil liability.
Using words that are supposed to imply some form of criminality are beyond what can be proven in a civil case and MDN should be careful of the emotive language it chooses to employ in its hyperbole.
“MDN”… “should be careful” … “hyperbole”
Surely you jest!
90% of the readers come here only for the hyperbole.
Asking MDB to limit hyperbole is like asking Donald Trump to scale back the … hyperbole.
Yes indeed, the convicted price fixer wanting the convicted copycat to pay up before all the patents in question are invalidated.
This is fun!
Convict as in to affirm the judgment against the defendant.
Money, time served, or jail time. Guilty and convicted of the crime.
Just a thought.
It’s unfortunate but that’s the way this world economy works. It’s unfortunate that the US Government and it’s paid for politicians can’t or won’t change the laws to protect all companies. It’s about keeping the status quo and every country and company outside the US knows that and doesn’t care. They know the US politicians and court systems will do nothing to stop them.
If this was a US company stealing from another US company that might be different but it’s not. It’s a foreign company and it’s pretty hard to enforce penalties without it having a large effect elsewhere to the consumer. At this point in history, the patent systems is worthless as is the courts system.
History repeating………..We are Rome.
Pay up you Slavish Copying Guilty as Sin Proven convicted POS company. Taiwan is also after your nasty stinking butt Samdung!
All US troops and personnel out of ROK now! Let North Korea invade South Korea.
Then when South Korea begs the USA to help them, we tell them we would be happy to …as soon as they stop ripping off US (and other country’s) Intellectual Property, and pay Apple appropriately.