To almost no one’s surprise, Samsung will reportedly challenge the $120 million in damages a California jury awarded to Apple as part of the most recent Apple v. Samsung trial. AppleInsider reports that Samsung’s lead attorney said the verdict was “unsupported by evidence.”
“Of course we’re pleased that the jury awarded Apple 6 percent of what they were asking for,” Samsung attorney John Quinn said in a statement obtained by Bloomberg. “But even that can’t stand, because Apple kept out all the real world evidence and didn’t produce anything to substitute for it, so you have a verdict that’s unsupported by evidence — and that’s just one of its problems.”
Apple had been seeking more than $2 billion, alleging that Samsung had infringed on five patents. Samsung had sought damages of its own, seeking just over $6 million for infringement of two of its patents. The jury found for both sides, ordering Samsung to pay “just” $119.6 million and telling Apple to hand over a mere $158,000 to its handset rival.
Villanova University law professor Michael Risch says an appeal would make financial sense for Samsung. “At this stage an appeal is cheap, even if the total can be reduced by $10-$20 million,” Risch said.
