Apple v. Samsung trial redux: What you need to know (FAQ) A judge in March ordered a retrial to recalculate damages Samsung has to pay Apple for patent infringement. The new trial kicks off Tuesday. The latest installment in the Apple versus Samsung patent infringement saga kicks off Tuesday. This time, its all about the money. In August of last year, a nine-person jury sided with Apple on a majority of its patent infringement claims against Samsung Electronics. At that time, the jury awarded Apple $1.05 billion in damages, much less than the $2.75 billion sought by the Cupertino, Calif., electronics giant. Samsung, which asked for $421 million in its countersuit, didnt get anything. However, Judge Lucy Koh in March ordered a new trial to recalculate some of the damages in the case, striking $450.5 million off the original judgment against Samsung. What that means is Samsung is still on the hook for about $600 million in damages, but a new jury has to decide how much else it owes. Essentially, this trial is a do-over of last years jury ruling on damages. To get a better understanding of what this means, CNET put together this FAQ. What was the original trial about? Apple originally filed suit against Samsung in April of 2011, accusing the Korean company of copying the look and feel of its products. Samsung countersued two months later over patent infringement. The initial trial, which stretched more than three weeks in August of 2012, wrapped both of those cases in one, somehow squeezing together the patent infringement issues, alongside antitrust claims and even trade dress issues. The trial, held in San Jose, Calif., was characterized by a massive trove of evidence that unveiled some of each companies biggest secrets. Apple tried to show that Samsung wasnt making anything that looked remotely like the iPhone or iPad until both of those products launched. And Samsung largely pointed to internal documents that showed it was at work on touch-screen phones with giant rectangular screens and rounded corners well before Apple showed up. A jury ultimately ruled in Apples favor. Why did the judge order a new trial? Koh determined the original jury didnt correctly calculate how much Samsung owed Apple for patent infringement. As she noted in March, the court has identified an impermissible legal theory on which the jury based its award, and cannot reasonably calculate the amount of excess while effectuating the intent of the jury. Why did the jury have such a hard time determining an acceptable number in the first trial? To reach their decision, jurors had to work through a 20-page document that required them to discern which devices from the two companies infringed on which patents -- a daunting task considering Apple had accused nearly two dozen of Samsungs devices of violating patents. In the new trial, jurors will have to fill out a one-page form. What does the jury have to determine this time around? Apple says consumers would have bought its iPhones and iPads if Samsung hadnt offered similar products. For the retrial, it all comes down to how much Apple lost from the sale of Samsungs devices that infringed on its patents. On that one-page form, the jury will have to determine the overall amount Samsung owes Apple, as well as the dollar breakdown by product. Where does the retrial take place? It will be held in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose. How long will it last? The trial should last six days. It begins November 12 with jury selection and possibly opening statements. Its slated to end November 19, and then the jury has time to deliberate. The expectation is everything will be wrapped up by November 22 or early the next week ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. How much money is at stake? Hundreds of millions. Koh cut about $450 million from the initial ruling, and jurors can award Apple more or less than that amount. What devices does the retrial apply to? The products in question include the Galaxy Prevail, Gem, Indulge, Infuse 4G, Galaxy SII AT&T, Captivate, Continuum, Droid Charge, Epic 4G, Exhibit 4G, Galaxy Tab, Nexus S 4G, Replenish, and Transform. The Prevail in particular racked up $57.9 million of the damages tally, which Koh said was a failure on the jurys part, since the device was found to infringe only on utility patents, and not on design patents.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 06:21:57 +0000
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