Samsung to Supreme Court: Apple got too Much Money for its Design Patents

Grossly Over-Rewarding Design Patents – Hurt Competition/Innovation

When it comes to legal damages, it is said that design patents are given considerably value and Samsung has argued to the U.S. Supreme Court in its patent dispute with Apple. In a brief opening which had been filed recently with the nation’s highest court, Samsung had presented its cause on why an earlier ruling in favour of Apple should be discarded. It is said in the filing that `at a minimum, a new trial is essential’.

Samsung opposes that Apple should get the profits only from the parts of a smartphone which encroach on the patents of Apple, the front face and a grid of icons on the interface of a user and not the profits from the complete phone. It is mentioned that `grossly over-rewarding design patents’ would hurt competition and innovation and would lead to `absurd’ results in the other lawsuits.

Samsung had made a comment in a statement that `if the current ruling is left to stand, it would value a single design patent over the hundreds of thousands of ground-breaking technology patents, leading to vastly overvalued design patents’.

Damages Collected for Complete Value of Device

Apple had not responded to a request for comment. In March, the Supreme Court had decided to evaluate the long-running dispute between Apple and Samsung and for the first time had looked at a design patent since the 1800s. A pronouncement by the court may have a ripple effect over the technology industry and eventually affect the gadget one tends to buy since it could ultimately define the value of the design work.

Samsung desires that the Supreme Court should provide guidance on what is covered by design patents that tend to protect the way an item is utilised and how it works as well as on what damages it could be collected. Presently damages can be collected by the companies for the complete value of the device and not just the trespassing design features.

In the case of Apple versus Samsung, it had led to an initial damage award amounting to over $1 billion. The original trail of Apple against Samsung in 2012 had mesmerized Silicon Valley as well as the tech industry since it had exposed the inner workings of two extremely secretive companies. It had been just of one the several trials across the world since the rivals fought both in the marketplace as well as in the courtroom.

Samsung to Pay Apple in Damages

Last year, Apple and Samsung had agreed to bury the hatchet in their overseas cases though their US court conflicts seems to continue. Samsung had filed a motion with the Supreme Court requesting it to re-examine the patent breach case after it lost its case in court to Apple.

 As a consequence of the trial, Samsung had to pay off to Apple the $548 million in damages that had been ordered by court. That motion had been granted by the Supreme Court and for the first time it had considered a design patent and is likely to consider the case later in the year.

Samsung had requested that the next weeks’ damages retrial should be kept on hold in order to evade a probable fourth trial and `avoid probably duplicative and wasteful proceedings’.