In the patent battle that feels as if it will never end, Apple has today asked the Supreme Court not to review Samsung’s latest appeals request in the two companies’ ongoing patent feud. Back in December, it was announced that Apple and Samsung had reached a $ 548 million settlement, but with a catch. Samsung said in its part of the agreement that it reserved the right to reclaim reimbursement should any position of the trial be modified…
Then, Samsung announced that it was taking the legal battle to the U.S. Supreme Court and asked it to hear an appeal of the case. Specifically, Samsung wants the U.S. Supreme Court to review design patents and the notion that lower courts misapplied the law concerning Apple’s design patents.
Apple has now filed an argument with the court in which it argues that the design patents and the damages awarded were already settled issues and not worthy of review by the Supreme Court. The company argues that there is no further reason that this trial should be prolonged (via Re/code):
“Samsung had its day in court — many days, in fact — and the properly instructed jury was well-justified in finding that Samsung copied Apple’s designs and should pay the damages that the statute expressly authorizes,” Apple said on Thursday. “While this litigation may be high-profile, it is legally unexceptional, and Samsung has shown no reason for this Court to prolong it.”
For good measure, Samsung issued a reply to Apple’s statement, saying that should the Supreme Court not step in and stop this design patent precedent from being set, innovation in the tech community could be negatively impacted:
“If the legal precedent in this case stands, innovation could be diminished, competition could be stifled, and opportunistic lawsuits could have negative effects throughout the U.S. economy,” it said in a statement.
While Samsung has already paid Apple its $ 548 million, Apple would be forced to reimburse Samsung if the Supreme Court changes the verdict. On the other hand, if the Supreme Court does not hear the case, it can finally be put to rest.
Photo credit: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic
Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Apple, court, legal, Patent, Samsung
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