Apple's $1 Billion Patent Fight Takes Samsung Back To Court

Apple AAPL and Samsung SSNLF have headed back to court Tuesday to fight another dispute. This battle is more about money than patent violations, as the verdict has already been decided. Last summer a jury ruled in favor of Apple and ordered Samsung to pay $1 billion in damages for infringing on the Mac maker's patents. That amount was reduced to roughly $550 million. However, the award could rise during the new trial, which will only be used to determine how much Samsung should be ordered to pay Apple. The penalty could wind up being less than the original $1 billion verdict, but it is not expected to fall below the current amount of $550 million. It could also escalate beyond last year's award. According to Bloomberg, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh ordered a new trial after concluding that the $1 billion verdict might have been overstated. The jury may have based its damages on calculations from incorrect patent infringement dates. But a new jury may not care if the dates were incorrect. Its primary concern is supposed to be money, and how much Samsung should be ordered to pay Apple. Related: Samsung To Sell 12-Inch Tablet This Year, Beating Apple To Retail A number of high-profile Apple executives -- including Phil Schiller, Senior VP of Worldwide Marketing and Scott Forstall, the former head of iOS development -- might be called to testify. According to the Bloomberg report, the company has a new damages expert: Julie L. Davis. The Chicago-based Certified Public Account has worked on more than 300 intellectual property disputes. It is not yet known if this means that Apple will change its strategy or request a larger penalty. Samsung, on the other hand, will employ Michael Wagner, the damages expert who handled the first trial. Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this report. Louis Bedigian is the Senior Tech Analyst and Features Writer of Benzinga. You can reach him at louis(at)benzingapro(dot)com. Follow him @LouisBedigianBZ