Bad blow to the image and the safe of Samsung. At the end of a discussion that lasted several days, the jury of the Californian court of San Josè (in Silicon Valley) established that the Korean giant copied the design plus some functions of the iPhone and for this it will have to pay to Apple a settlement of 539 million dollars.
In detail, Samsung will have to compensate 533,3 million for infringing three patents related to procedure to unlock the screen of the iPhones, to the “quick link patent” (which allows you to recognize information such as addresses and telephone numbers, and transform them into links) and to some design elements (the rectangular shape with rounded edges of the smartphone and the colored icons arranged on a black screen). The remaining part of the compensation instead concerns the use by the Koreans of two functions of the iPhone covered by patents.
The story is old and now Samsung no longer sells the offending model. A first breakthrough came in 2011, when Apple won a first lawsuit and Samsung was ordered to pay 400 million. However, the Koreans appealed against that sentence, carrying on the dispute until the judgment of the US Supreme Court, In which 2016 canceled the fine and sent the file back to the ordinary judicial system.
In the new lawsuit, Apple had asked 1,05 billion dollars, while Samsung said it was willing to pay compensation not exceeding 28 million. San Jose jurors had to determine whether the items copied by Samsung justified paying all of the profits made with the disputed smartphone model or just a portion.
“We are happy that the jury members agree that Samsung should pay for copying our products,” Apple reacted.
But the Korean company doesn't agree: “Today's decision – reads a note – contrasts with that of the Supreme Court, which had ruled in favor of Samsung on the damages caused by the design patent. We will consider all options to arrive at a figure that does not undermine creativity and fair competition for all companies and consumers”.
In the tech sector, this ruling in favor of Apple could pave the way for many new litigations.
