Samsung stung by $539 million jury verdict in Apple patent defeat

In the endless patent war between Apple and Samsung, Apple has again been awarded a massive jury verdict against the South Korean company. Earlier today, Apple was granted $539 million by the federal jury in the US.

Originally, Apple won a 2012 federal jury verdict of more than $1 billion for various patent and design infringements by Samsung. Samsung successfully appealed and, ultimately, issues in the case went up to the US Supreme Court.

During this round in federal court in San Jose, California, a retrial of damages, Apple sought $1 billion, while Samsung said it should only be compelled to pay $28 million. (That’s probably equivalent to the lawyers’ fees at this point.) Liability, in Apple’s favor, was already determined on three design-related patents.

According to Bloomberg, the damages award is the largest for a patent case so far in 2018. The second largest, ironically, involves an Apple defeat in which it was ordered to pay $502 million to VirnetX in Texas two months ago.

Samsung decried today’s decision, while Apple celebrated it as a vindication of its design. It’s almost certain that Samsung will appeal again.

About The Author

Greg Sterling

Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog, Screenwerk, about connecting the dots between digital media and real-world consumer behavior. He is also VP of Strategy and Insights for the Local Search Association. Follow him on Twitter or find him at Google+.