Comparing Apples to Apples: Apple's Lawsuit Against Samsung’s Patent Infringement: Part 1

Since Apple’s introduction of the iPhone in 2007, almost all phone creators have navigated towards the flat touch screen phone which has dominated the market for more than a decade. Perhaps one of the most well-known cases of patent infringement stems from Apple suing Samsung for allegedly copying similar features in order to ‘lure people’ into buying a product similar to their smartphone.

The lawsuit was launched against Samsung in 2011 by Apple's patent lawyers, which has carried on for years, specifically with regards to the amount Samsung should pay for their infringement. The first proposed amount that should be payable to Apple was set by a US jury in 2012, amounting to a total of $1.05 billion.

A few years later, in 2014, the jury sided with Samsung’s accusation against Apple for infringement on Samsung’s patents. In this case, the jury had awarded Samsung $158,400 in damages, while deeming that Samsung’s damages that needed to be paid to Apple were $119.6 million. The total damages Samsung was set to pay Apple was declared by a US District Judge, which amounted to $549 million.

The case had gone one for a few more years and even escalated to the US Supreme Court in 2016. The Supreme Court had advised that a re-examination for $399 million of the $549 million needed to be completed by lower courts. During this time, Apple continued to maintain that Samsung had owed more than $1 billion in damages, while Samsung argued that they should only be liable to pay $28 million. It’s important to note that the patent does not protect the phone in its entirety, one phone can be a result of many patented technology used to build a phone. The use of technology in the camera, battery life, voice operating system, and more, may all be protected by individual patents, making it possible for many patents to be infringed by a single device.

In part two of this blog, we will go over the most recent decision in the battle between Apple and Samsung and the patent infringement case. Keep an eye out for the final part of this article.