New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra was once quoted as saying “It ain’t over ’til it’s over,” and that has never been more true than when it is used in reference to the iPhone design patent trial between Apple and Samsung.
CNET reports the Samsung filed an appeal last week asking the U.S. District Court in San Jose to either reduce the $539 million Apple was awarded in the iPhone design patents trial which came to a pause last month, (I refused to say “came to an end,” because this will never end IMHO), or hold a new trial.
In a 34-page post-trial motion filed with the US District Court in San Jose, California, Samsung says the jury’s $539 million verdict is “excessive” and not supported by the evidence.
The South Korean electronics firm says the evidence “supports a verdict of no more than $28.085 million,” which is the amount Samsung pushed for during the trial.
“[The] decision flies in the face of a unanimous Supreme Court ruling in favor of Samsung on the scope of design patent damages,” Samsung said in response to the verdict last month. “We will consider all options to obtain an outcome that does not hinder creativity and fair competition for all companies and consumers.”
The latest legal skirmish between Apple and Samsung was held to decide on the proper amount of damages Samsung would need to pay. Samsung had appealed to the Supreme Court, saying the original damages award of $399 million was too large a sum for the design violation.
The trial tasked the jury with deciding whether the damages should be based on the total value of Apple’s iPhone, or if the amount awarded should be based on just the elements of the device that Samsung had copied.
Apple pushed for $1 billion in damages, which was based on the total value of the design of the iPhone, while Samsung asked the award to be reduced to $28 million, based on only the design elements in question. The jury’s decision fell somewhere in the middle, awarding $539 million, which was considerably more than the original 2015 award of $399 million.
Samsung had promised to appeal following the May verdict, saying: “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.”
Samsung has also filed a separate motion, asking to be reimbursed the $145 million payment they made for a now invalidated Apple multi-touch patent.
Apple will have 10 days to respond to Samsung’s filing, and a hearing is scheduled for July 26.
(Via MacRumors)
