(Newswire.net— May 29, 2018) — It took about seven years, but the verdict has finally been passed. Samsung has no doubt used Apple’s patents on some of its previous models from the Galaxy series.
The long standing dispute has been going on for more than seven years but it is finally reaching its conclusion. Now Samsung is obliged to pay a huge sum of money to Apple, more than Samsung hoped they would have to, but less than what Apple demanded.
At one point, it seemed that no one was able to solve the case. Apple claimed that Samsung copied their sleek design, but Samsung was adamant that round edges can’t be protected by copyright. Apple was indeed first but Samsung seemed to be in the right.
However, Apple won the trial, and the millions that come with it. Samsung has to pay as much as $539 million to the Apple Corporation because they have repeatedly infringed on Apple’s patents. It was almost certain that the South Korean company would lose this battle, but it hoped to pay ‘only’ a couple of millions while Apple was demanding a trillion.
Both sides had their own calculations. Samsung had proposed 28 million and Apple a billion. The court decided to split the difference.
To be precise, compensation amounts to exactly $533,316,606 for violation of three design patents to which a sum of 5,325,050 was added for two innovative patents. Interestingly, in this case, the court awarded a considerably higher sum than the first proposed sum after the appeal, but the point was never in the money.
In short, the whole problem arose about the discussion of the rectangular shaped phone with rounded edges. Apple thinks they are the creators of this design, and Samsung claims that round edges can’t be patented. The fact is that the iPhone 3GS and Galaxy S are almost identical, but it’s really hard to invent another form of smartphone. Every model looks pretty much the same.
Both companies gave a statement on the verdict. Of course, Apple is very pleased with the judgment, while Samsung states that they are afraid of the limitation of creative energy. It is questionable if Samsung can design smartphones with rounded edges now that such a design is an iPhone trademark.
Beside the questionable design, Apple finally claimed ownership on its famous slide-to-unlock patent and its less-famous quick links patent, which covered software that automatically turned information like a phone number into a tappable link.