Jury Rules That Samsung Must Pay Apple $539M In iPhone Patent Case

A federal jury found Thursday that Samsung Electronic SSNLF must pay Apple Inc. AAPL $539 million in damages for infringing on iPhone-related patents.

What Happened

The charge increases the amount Samsung had previously been ordered to pay by $140 million.

Apple’s legal battle against Samsung dates back to 2011, when it first claimed Samsung had stolen key design elements for its cell phones. Appeals took the case all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled in 2016 that the holder of a design patent is not necessarily entitled to all of the profits gained from an infringing product.

Why It's Important 

Apple had sought $1.05 billion, while Samsung argued the penalty should be capped at a mere $28 million — the amount of profits it said can be attributed to the products’ designs.

The Supreme Court did not rule on the amount owed by Samsung or how to calculate it, leaving the matter to the U.S. District Court in San Jose, California. The $539 million award announced Thursday is equivalent to only a few days’ worth of Apple’s profit.

What's Next 

“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 and fair competition for all companies and consumers,” a Samsung spokesperson said.

It seems likely that Samsung will appeal the decision back to the Supreme Court, meaning its fight with Apple could continue for years to come.

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Photo courtesy of Apple.