“A Samsung expert on Friday made his case for why the Korean giant should pay Apple only $52 million in damages, saying there’s no evidence that anyone has bought Samsung devices because of a particular patented Apple technology,” Shara Tibken reports for CNET.
MacDailyNews Take: A “Samsung expert.” In other words, an extreme couponer.
“An expert hired by Apple had determined the company was due $114 million in lost profits because of Samsung’s use of technology under Apple’s patent No. 7,844,915, also known as ‘pinch to zoom.’ The ‘915 patent covers technology that can distinguish whether a user is scrolling with one finger versus using several touch points at once for a pinch-to-zoom action,” Tibken reports. “However, Michael Wagner, an accountant and lawyer hired by Samsung, said there’s no evidence from either company that shows consumers bought Samsung devices because they liked that particular touch-screen feature. As a result, he believes Apple should receive no money for lost profits.”
“The comments come on the fourth day of a retrial for damages that Samsung owes Apple for infringing on five of its patents. A judge in March vacated about $450 million of an original award. Samsung is still on the hook for $600 million, no matter what happens in the retrial,” Tibken reports. “Wagner spent his time on the stand Friday disputing calculations made by Apple’s expert accountant, Julie Davis… Apple — using Davis’ calculations — says Samsung owes it $380 million. Samsung says it should pay $52 million… One expert, MIT professor John Hauser, estimated three Apple patents, including the ‘915 patent, adds about $100 in value to a $199 smartphone or $90 in value to a $499 tablet. Davis said Apple lost out on $114 million in profits because of the Samsung copycat devices. She also calculated Samsung’s profits to be $231 million, and said reasonable royalties owed to Apple total $35 million. Apple estimates it would have sold 360,000 devices if Samsung hadn’t released infringing rivals.”
Read more in the full article here.
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Lost profits ineligible as damages theory for several Apple patents in Samsung retrial – November 16, 2013
