The Apple v. Samsung patent infringement battle is back in the District Court giving Samsung an opportunity to avoid paying its steep damages award. Through several successful rulings and appeals, Apple obtained a $399M judgment for infringement of its design patents relating back to the look of the original iPhone.
While the Federal Circuit agreed that the damages were properly based on the entire sales price of the phones since the infringed designs were not separable from the inner components included in the phones, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected this holding and found that the damages should be limited to the “article of manufacture” which could be a mere component of an end-user product.
Now the case has been remanded to determine whether the damages award is still appropriate and if a new trial is necessary. Both Apple and Samsung have been tasked with presenting the court a proposed “test for identifying the article of manufacture,” which the Court will use to determine whether a new trial on damages is warranted.
Source: The Star
