Apple Requests Additional $180 million

In December 2015, Apple won a patent battle with smart phone maker Samsung that forces the Korean phone manufacturer to payout $548 million in damages to Apple. Now, Apple is asking a U.S Court to force Samsung to pay an additional $180 million that they believe Samsung owes them. The infringement occurred on five mobile phones that were sold beginning in 2012. The requested $180 million includes both interest and supplemental damages. Apple in the initial case demanded that Samsung pay $2.5 billion. The appeals court went through will the infringement case when they found merit to the legality of Apple’s trademark claim on the iPhone’s custom designed back.

The majority of the damages are based on a jury finding Samsung guilty of infringement on appearance, and Samsung argues that it makes no sense for a maker of complex devices to have to pay damages of “full profit” for infringing on a minor design element. Samsung is particularly concerned with this patent litigation because it allows “design patents alone among intellectual property rights as a basis to obtain windfall awards far exceeding any inventive contribution” (Law360). It has been standard procedure for full profits to be paid out for design patent infringement, so it is going to be hard for Samsung to recoup some of its money. Samsung is going to have to get a high court to hear the case and ultimately rule that the damages awarded to Apple were excessive. There is one way out that is up in the air for Samsung. The claims of Apple patents that Samsung was found to infringe on were found invalid by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in a re-examination this year. Apple is appealing that ruling, but if it is upheld, then Samsung will be off the hook for paying Apple.