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Tech patent war continues
- Published on Monday, 24 September 2012 11:26
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Not content with the billion-dollar body blow it dealt to Samsung last month, Apple are going for the jugular by asking for a court order for a permanent US sales on Samsung Electronics products as well as additional damages of $707 million.
Samsung have replied by asking for a new trial.
The court order is the latest in an on-going patent war between the two smartphone manufacturing heavyweights which is being fought in patent battles across 10 countries as the two companies wrestle for the top spot in the hugely-lucrative and ever evolving smartphone market.
Apple scored a major victory in August when a US jury found that Samsung had copied critical features of the iPhone’s design, and awarded Apple $1.05 billion in damages.
In a follow up filed on Friday in the US, Apple sought a further $400 million in damages for design infringement by Samsung; $135 million for willful infringement of its utility patents; $121 million in supplemental damages based on Samsung's product sales not covered in the jury's deliberation; and $50 million of prejudgment interest on damages through December 31. The requests together come to $707 million.
Apple is also looking for the injunction to cover "any of the infringing products or any other product with a feature or features not more than colorably different from any of the infringing feature or features in any of the Infringing Products."
Should the ban succeed, it could result in the extension of the injunction to also cover Samsung’s critically acclaimed Galaxy S III smartphone.
In response, the Korean firm asked for a new trial to be held.
"The Court's constraints on trial time, witnesses and exhibits were unprecedented for a patent case of this complexity and magnitude, and prevented Samsung from presenting a full and fair case in response to Apple's many claims," Samsung said.
"Samsung therefore respectfully requests that the Court grant a new trial enabling adequate time and even-handed treatment of the parties."
In a separate statement, Samsung criticised the fact that patent rulings cover issues such as the shape of a product.
"It is unfortunate that patent law can be manipulated to give one company a monopoly over rectangles with rounded corners, or technology that is being improved every day by Samsung and other companies," it said.
It also responded by adding Apple’s new iPhone 5 to existing patent lawsuits in the US, potentially opening the door for a counter ban on Apple’s smartphone.
Apple said it expects the court to award damages that reflect "a rational and fair effort to address Samsung's willful misconduct that has and will impose lasting harm on Apple."
Samsung took the lead in smartphone sales in Q2 this year, selling 50 million phones, soundly trumping Apple’s own 26 million iPhone sales. Both companies are now stepping up their marketing efforts to promote their latest devices as consumers head towards Christmas.
