The patent infringement case which Apple had filed on Samsung in 2011 finally came to a conclusion on 25th May 2018, Thursday. The decision was in favor of the American tech giant Apple, now its Korean competitor Samsung will have to pay an amount of $539 million dollars (29 billion rupees) to Apple for copying it’s product designs.
“We’re grateful to the jury for their service and pleased they agree that Samsung should pay for copying our products,” Apple said in a statement issued shortly after the verdict.
“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.” It added.
Apple had sued Samsung for copying its features illegally like ‘touch to zoom’ and ‘bounce back’. Apple had argued that it was owed more than $1 billion while Samsung contended that it owes only $28 million dollars.
The two tech titans were engaged in a patent infringement case for seven years. In 2011, Apple had filed a case against Samsung for illegally copying its internal design elements. In 2014, the jury ruled the case in Apple’s favor and was awarded an amount of $119 million dollars. In 2016, the long fought patent battle found its way from California’s district court to the Supreme Court. But then in 2017 the case made its way back to the district courtroom, where the judge decided to hold a retrial to figure out a new bill of damages in the case. And finally in 2018 Apple won the patent infringement case against its Korean rival.
“Today’s decision flies in the face of a unanimous Supreme Court ruling in favor of Samsung on the scope of design patent damages. We will consider all options to obtain an outcome that does not hinder creativity and fair competition for all companies and consumers,” Samsung said in its statement on the matter.
Samsung has indicated that it intends to appeal the ruling once again.
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