Samsung Ordered to Pay Apple $539 Million for Infringing iPhone Patents

A jury has told Samsung it must pay Apple $539 million for infringing on three design patents with Android phones sold between 2010 and 2011. The unanimous decision was made in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California in San Jose, California. The number is significant because it’s higher than what Apple was likely to get based on past court decisions, according to Bloomberg.

 Samsung argued that a penalty of $28 million was appropriate and Apple was looking for $1.07 billion in damages.

Apple believes Samsung’s stance would mean a carmaker could build something just like a Volkswagen Beetle but then pay damages only based on the outside shell, but Samsung thinks Apple’s stance would mean a company infringing a cupholder design would have to pay patents on an entire car. Samsung didn’t fight Apple’s suggested $5.3 million penalty for infringing two utility patents.

The three design patents in the case were:

● US Patent No. D618,677 (D’677) which describes a black, rectangular, round-cornered front face for an electronic device
● US Patent No. D593,087 (D’087) which describes a similar rectangular round-cornered front face plus the surrounding bezel
● US Patent No. D604,305 (D’305) which describes a colorful grid of icons

The case is Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., 11-cv-01846, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose).