Both Apple and Samsung Argue That $1.05 Billion Patent Infringement Verdict is Unfair

California – After a $1.05 billion verdict was found in favor of Apple in August, both Samsung and Apple are back in court arguing that the ruling is unfair.

The arguments regarding several post-trial motions filed since the August verdict will be heard by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in the Northern District Court in San Francisco.
Samsung claims that the $1.05 billion verdict goes too far and is asking for a reduction in the verdict or for the verdict to be overturned all together. On the other hand, Apple wants $535 million more in enhanced damages, based on the jury’s finding that Samsung willfully infringed Apple’s patents.

Samsung claims that Apple has not shown it suffered any damages the jury did not account for and so it is not entitled to enhanced damages.

Beyond that argument, Samsung claims that a reasonable jury would not have found that it infringed Apple’s patents and that the jury’s findings and damage calculations are faulty and inconsistent, thus Apple is not entitled to the $1.05 billion in damages the jury awarded.

Samsung also claims that the jury foreman, Velvin Hogan, was biased against the company. Samsung bases this claim on the fact that Hogan sued Seagate Technology in 1993, a company Samsung recently invested in. Based on this alleged bias, Samsung is asking for a new trial due to jury misconduct.

Samsung also claims that the judge’s constraints on jury time, exhibits, and witnesses prevented it from making a full and fair case against Apple’s claims. Apple counters that Samsung’s jury misconduct claim is based on speculation and it has not given sufficient cause to require a new trial.

In addition to greater monetary damages, Apple is asking for a permanent injunction on Samsung’s allegedly infringing smartphones and tablets. It wants the injunction to ban all technology that is “not more than colorably different,” which could ban Samsung products that had nothing to do with the trial.

Samsung claims that the injunction Apple wants is vague and overbroad, which could hinder competition and limit consumer choice. Samsung also claims that Apple has not shown it will suffer irreparable harm or that monetary remedies are not sufficient.
Samsung’s argument also pointed out Apple’s recent settlement with HTC Corp., which concerned some of the same patents at issue in the Samsung case, as confirmation that Apple’s competitors can sell products containing Apple’s patents through licensing without damaging the company.

Regardless of Koh’s ruling on the case and the decisions on appeals that are sure to follow, Apple and Samsung’s legal battles are far from over. The companies will be back in Judge Koh’s courtroom in 2014 battling over patent infringement in newer smartphones and tablets.