Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Samsung Over Apple’s Patent Violation Claims

Apple and Samsung are the David and Goliath of the tech world. They are bitter rivals not only in the tech hemisphere but also in the courtroom. Needless to say, both companies will continue to sue each other until one will concede and let the other claim that they have beaten one of the best in the business.

A recent legal battle between the two titans saw the Supreme Court overruling "an earlier court decision" that would render the South Korean to pay the Cupertino-based firm $399 million. According to PC Mag, the Supreme Court of the United States, through a unanimous decision written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, ruled in favor of Samsung after finding out that "copyright law does not allow Apple to claim damages" for Samsung's profits. Apple may still pursue their claim, but only to the extent of what Samsung had allegedly infringed.

Citing Section 289 of the Patent Act, the resolution stated that those who are caught violating design patents based on "article of manufacture" are bound to be liable "to the extent of his total profit." It added that a jury found that several Smartphones made by Samsung "infringed design patents" maintained by Apple. This includes a rectangular front face with rounded edges "and a grid of colorful icons on a black screen." In other words, Apple claimed that Samsung copied patented designs from the iPhone and in turn, "awarded $399 million in damages", or the entire profit Samsung made from its infringing mobile phones.

On the other hand, The New York Times said that Justice Sotomayor's decision "did not resolve the question" on whether the posting of the violation of "article of manufacture" covers the whole device or just parts of it. As an example, Justice Sotomayor took the case of a "single component product" like a dinner plate and pointed that the "article of manufacture" is the plate itself. In a multicomponent product, however, like a kitchen oven, identifying the "identifying the 'article of manufacture' to which the design has been applied is a more difficult task."

The case has since been remanded to a federal circuit court that specializes in patent appeals. This is exactly what Samsung lawyers asked in August when they contended that design infringement should be decided "on each component" rather than the whole product.