Apple have been pressuring a judge to award them extra damages of $535 million in their U.S. Patent case against Samsung Electronics. This is in addition to their permanent injunction against sales of Samsung infringing products.
Apple attorneys have said that ‘The harm to Apple was deliberate, not intentional’ in a court paper filed on September 21st in San Jose, California. They added that Samsung “willfully diluted its trade dress, taking billions in sales in the fast- growing U.S. smartphone market at a key moment in the transition between feature phones and smartphones.”
The Samsung V Apple battle has been ongoing now for some time. Apple sued Samsung in April 2011, and Samsung then countersued. This head to head battle is valued by Bloomberg Industries at $219.1 billion across four continents.
Apple won a $1.05 billion verdict in August but they aren’t happy with the total amount now.
According to Bloomberg Apple are ‘requesting an enhancement of $135 million under the Patent Act and $400 million under the Lanham Act, for a combined total of $535 million, compared with $268 million from the verdict under both statutes, court papers show. The court may increase the damages up to three times the amount assessed, court papers show.’
Samsung have replied saying “Many of the jury’s determinations and their damage calculations were based on insufficient evidence and questionable decision-making procedures. Apple is requesting permanent injunctions and additional damages based on these highly questionable prior decisions.”
Kitguru says: It is anyone’s guess as to how this will pan out over the coming months, but Apple are still going for the throat.
