A month or so ago, Apple finally won in its court battle against Samsung in a California court. The verdict – Samsung has infringed on Apple’s patents and will be required to pay a little more than $1 billion to Apple as damages.
But the fight is not finished. Various motions and filings are still being filed by both parties and this means this court battle is far from over.
Just last Friday, Apple filed a motion asking the courts to fine Samsung an additional $707 million. This is on top of the one billion dollars it was already awarded. The reason for this? Apple wants $400 million in damages for what it calls design infringement. It then wants $135 million for “willful infringement” of the utility patents Apple controls, and then $121 million for supplemental damages. This is topped off by a request for $50 million as “prejudgment interest” on the damages.
Aside from additional damages, Apple is also asking the court to issue a permanent ban on all of the Samsung devices that Apple has identified as infringing on its patents. The proposed ban is far reaching and Apple is hoping it can extend it to the new Samsung Galaxy S3.
On the other hand, Samsung is going to ask for a mistrial for reason of juror misconduct. The petition will revolve around juror and jury foreman Velvin Hogan, who has been found to have prior knowledge of patent law since he is a patent holder himself. Other jurors have actually acknowledged Hogan’s expertise in helping them shape the verdict. Hogan has also appeared on Bloomberg TV and subtly hinted at how he contributed to the jury deliberation. Jury deliberation should solely rely on the evidence at hand, and Hogan’s experience will be what Samsung’s lawyers will cite for its mistrial petition.
Samsung and Apple will meet again in the courtroom this December for a hearing on Apple’s ban petition. This fight between two of the biggest mobile phone manufacturers in the world will still drag on.
