A new Apple filing in its patent infringement case against Samsung claims that Judge Lucy Koh made a US$85 million error when she tossed out $450.5 million of the $1 billion in damages the iPhone and iPad maker was awarded in a ruling last year. Judge Koh ruled that the $450.5 million was improperly awarded by a Jury for several Samsung Android OS-based devices and ordered a new trial to determine what the damages related to those productes should ultimately be.
Apple says Judge Koh tossed out $85 million too much in patent damages
Florian Mueller of Foss Patents stated,
Interestingly, Apple claims to have found an error on Judge Koh's part to the tune of $85 million (approximately 19 percent of the total vacated amount): she thought the jury had granted, on the basis of an impermissible legal theory presented by Apple at its own peril, $40,494,356 for the Galaxy S II AT&T and $44,792,974 for the Infuse 4G, but Apple points out that Samsung's own admissions concerning the dates of first sale of these products as well as certain exhibits consistent with those admissions prove that the relevant theory -- disgorgement of profits for design patent infringement -- was permissible.
If Judge Koh agrees, then the number of devices in the new damages trial will drop from 14 to 12, and the current damages total would climb up to $685 million. The damages for the remaining 12 devices could ultimately be higher or lower than $365.5 million left after what Apple is calling an $85 million error.
Apple and Samsung have been fighting in courts around the world over mutual patent infringement claims related to their mobile device lineups for years. Apple scored its highest profile win last August when a U.S. Federal Court Jury ruled that Samsung infringed on a long list of its patents and awarded it $1 billion in damages.
Apple has been pushing to keep the legal process moving forward for the damages discrepancy while Samsung has been hoping to stall the case until the appeals process has been exhausted.
Judge Koh hasn't responded to Apple's new filing yet.