November 13, 2013: Apple and Samsung head back to court to determine how much the Korean company must pay for having copied the iPhone. Cupertino asks Samsung for $379 million in damages for ripping off key iPhone technical and design features.
Apple arrives at that number based on estimated lost profits, royalty rates and the $3.5 billion worth of copyright-infringing devices Samsung sold during the period in question.
Apple demands damages because Samsung copied the iPhone
Apple’s war with Samsung officially kicked off three years earlier in August 2010. At that time, Apple executives visited Samsung’s HQ in Seoul, South Korea, and gave a presentation with the title, “Samsung’s Use of Apple Patents in Smartphones.” The launch of Samsung’s Galaxy S smartphone, which “borrowed” much of its look and feel from the iPhone, triggered the intervention.
The most obvious patented tech lifted from the iPhone included features like “pinch to zoom” and “rubber-banding,” which made the smartphone display bounce slightly when users tried to scroll past the bottom of a page.
Things moved quickly after the August 2010 meeting. Before long, the two companies wound up in court, with Apple pressing its case that Samsung copied the iPhone. By July 2012, Apple and Samsung faced off in more than 50 lawsuits around the world.
Samsung employed its usual tactics. It filed constant counter-lawsuits, hoping to delay the eventual outcome while buying time to build its own brands. While Samsung won verdicts in South Korea, Japan and the United Kingdom, Apple won a $1.05 billion ruling in the United States. But the following March, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh slashed $450 million from the $1 billion awarded to Apple. Koh said the jury miscalculated the damages Apple was due for Samsung’s copying of iPhone features.
The November 2013 lawsuit was intended to work out the exact size of damages. Apple asked for $379 million, while Samsung said it owed just $52 million.
The Apple vs. Samsung smartphone battle is over?
Today, the legal war Apple launched after Samsung copied the iPhone finally appears to be over. After waging war against each other in the courtroom for more than seven years, the two sides finally agreed to a settlement in January 2018. It’s not totally clear how much Samsung had to pay Apple. However, the settlement meant the end of all remaining claims and counterclaims.
The two continue to compete in the smartphone market. And Samsung continues to take shots at Apple in its advertising.
Who do you think is winning the smartphone battle between Samsung and Apple now? Let us know in the comments below.
