Samsung Electronics’ request for a rehearing of the patent infringement case brought by Apple against the company was rejected by a US appeals court.
Advertisement
The Washington, D.C.-based appeals court, which reviews all patent appeals, upheld the centerpiece of Apple’s case against Samsung, which rested on claims that Samsung’s smartphones and tablets violated Apple’s patent rights on the iPhone. Samsung filed the request last month and was not alone in the appeal and was backed by Google, Facebook, eBay, Dell, and HP in a “friend of the court” brief.
The decision comes on the same day that Samsung unveiled its latest flagship phones, hoping to turn around its fortunes after a string of disappointing quarterly results. “For decades, we have invested heavily in developing revolutionary innovations in the mobile industry and beyond”.
Apple said the designs were critical to success of the products and that Samsung copied the Apple designs to transform “bulky, walkie-talkie-like boxes” into something that mimicked the iPhone.
An Apple representative wasn’t immediately available for comment. There’s a real fear in Silicon Valley about Apple winning this case.
The San Jose Mercury News reported that
“Without comment, the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Samsung’s bid to reconsider a previous ruling largely backing Apple – leaving the U.S. Supreme Court as the only legal option left for Samsung to try to overturn hundreds of millions of dollars in damages it now owes Apple in their ongoing patent feud.”
The design patents infringement in question covered minor details of the smartphone aspect and did not incorporate thousands of patents as alleged by Apple. Last year, Apple won an additional $119.6 million in a separate infringement case. The case will now be sent back to the trial court in California to see the full amount Samsung will have to pay.
Advertisement
Looking ahead, Samsung hasn’t said how it will handle the court’s ruling on Thursday. Opting to pay may ultimately be the quickest solution, if Samsung wants to put the case behind it.
