Supreme Court To Hear Apple-Samsung Feud
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on Tuesday in the patent dispute between the world's two top smartphone manufacturers over the amount Samsung should pay Apple for copying the iPhone's design. Samsung Electronics paid Apple Inc $548.2 million last December, fulfilling part of its liability stemming from a 2012 verdict for infringing Apple's iPhone patents and copying its look.
Samsung will argue before the Supreme Court that it should not have had to make as much as $399 million of that payout for infringement of three patented designs on the iPhone's rounded-corner front face, its bezel and the colorful grid of icons that represent programs and applications.
Apple sued its South Korean rival in 2011, claiming Samsung stole its technology and the iPhone's trademarked appearance.
The justices' ruling, due by the end of June, could have a long-term impact for designers and product manufacturers going forward because the Supreme Court, if it agrees with Samsung, could limit the penalties for swiping a patented design.