Samsung Demands Judges Scrap $930m Apple Patent Damage Award

Samsung has asked a US appeals court to throw out an order that it pay Apple $930m (£597m) for infringements of its Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets upon iPhone patents.

At a Thursday hearing at the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, a specialised court for patent appeals, Samsung asked for a 2012 decision by the US District Court for the Northern District of California to be scrapped.

The order found that Samsung devices including the Galaxy S II and the Droid Charge infringed Apple patents and ordered a payment of $930m, which amounts to all of Samsung’s profits for the devices. The amount was a reduction from an earlier award of $1.05bn.

Samsung’s lawyer argued that the patents that were infringed were not essential, and that as such it was improper for the total profits for the device sales to be awarded, comparing the decision to awarding the entire profits of a car because of an infringing cup holder.

Apple argued that the patents involve essential aspects of the devices in question.

Patent warfare

The three judges on the panel did not indicate when they would rule, but a decision is likely to be several months away.

Apple and Samsung have fought smartphone patent cases in about a dozen countries, but in August agreed to withdraw all such lawsuits outside the US.

Apple has tangled with other makers of handsets using Google’s Android software, including Motorola Mobility. Apple and Motorola Mobility, formerly a unit of Google and since acquired by Lenovo, settled their litigation in May.

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