Samsung to pay Apple $290 million for stealing features

Nov. 21 (UPI) -- A jury ruled that Samsung is to pay more than $290 million in a patent dispute, for stealing features from Apple regarding design and functionality. This award follows up from a previous trial.

Some of the features in question were Apple's "pinch to zoom" function and "bounce back" function at the end of a screen page on iPhones and iPads.

The patent feud began in August 2012, when Samsung was ordered to pay out $1 billion in patent infringement costs. But a judge later subtracted $450 million of that charge. Jury selection for the latest trial began last week to decide how much of this remaining cost should be paid. The retrial addressed 13 Samsung devices.

Judge Judge Lucy Koh said the reason for the amount in damages was unclear. This led to the most recent trial which revealed much of the smartphone creators' intimate internal workings: sales figures, negotiations and memos. Judge Koh and the jurors had a difficult time deciphering how to calculate damages to Apple's revenue.

The Samsung's Infuse 4G damages were sought to be $100 million alone, and the Droid charge at $60 million.

Apple was asking $350 million in damages, while Samsung believed it should only pay $52 million. According to Bloomberg data, it's the fifth-largest jury award in 2013 and the largest in a patent trial.

Samsung also said the decision was a "loss for the American consumer," and that prices are likely to be higher and innovation stifled.

Another higher-profile trial is to begin next March over an additional set of patent infringements between Samsung and Apple regarding the iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy 5, which outsold its Apple competitor at one point.

These are just the first in a series of cases beginning globally between the two smartphone leaders, signalling a global battle in innovation and sales, as well as Apple's ongoing feud with Google, which runs Samsung's Android operating systems.

[Bloomberg] [NY Times] [NY Times]