Unending Patent War
It is expected that the total amount of damages Samsung Electronics has to pay to Apple for its patent infringement will be fixed on or around November 20. Much attention is being paid to whether or not the amount will be reduced thanks to the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s recent decision to not recognize the rights of the pinch-to-zoom patent, or Patent 915.
According to Samsung Electronics, the trial to determine the damages was held on November 12 (local time) in the San Jose division of the Northern District Court of California. During the first day of the trial, Judge Lucy Koh started the jury selection process in the presence of the lawyers representing both sides.
Back in March this year, the judge had pointed out some error in the verdict of the jury and acknowledged only US$640 million out of the US$1.05 billion in damages. The trial is to decide matters with regard to the remaining US$410 million.
The verdict is expected to be available on November 20 or later, and then the court makes its final ruling based on the verdict. The jury is supposed to make no decision on the patent infringement side but only cover the recalculation of the damages.
The judge had told Samsung Electronics and Apple to have a round of negotiations before the commencement of the trial and both companies agreed by saying they would suggest the negotiations on or before January 8 next year. The judge had demanded that the negotiations be attended by the CEOs of both companies.