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Supreme Court to hear Apple, Samsung design patent battle

By Ed Adamczyk
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to consider part of a case involving alleged patent infringent by Samsung, maker of the pictured Galaxy cellphone, against Apple, maker of the iPhone. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to consider part of a case involving alleged patent infringent by Samsung, maker of the pictured Galaxy cellphone, against Apple, maker of the iPhone. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

WASHINGTON, March 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a patent case considering Samsung's appeal of a lower court's ruling it infringed on an Apple cellphone design.

At issue is whether a $548 million financial penalty Samsung was ordered to pay Apple after a jury concluded it infringed on iPhone patents is excessive.

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At issue are not the technological elements of either phone, which are covered under utility patents, but design patents, which refer to the shape or outward appearance of a product. Apple and Samsung have sued each other regularly over the mater.

Apple won a victory in 2012, when a California federal jury agreed Samsung had infringed on Apple designs, notably the Galaxy's rounded edges and colorful on-screen icons. A hoped-for $2.75 billion settlement was reduced to $1 billion, and then to $548 million after a series of appeals. In December, Samsung agreed to pay Apple $548 million with the unusual stipulation that the money would be returned if the patents were ruled invalid or if Samsung won a case on appeal. A ruling by the Supreme Court case would decide which company keeps the money.

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In petitioning the Supreme Court, Samsung argued the jury was improperly allowed to find infringement based merely on "overall appearance ... Even if the patented features contributed 1 percent of the value of Samsung's phones, Apple gets 100 percent of Samsung's profits."

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