The rivalry of Apple and Samsung on patent case is not yet over.Apple and Samsung is set to show up in the US Supreme Court on Tuesday regarding a patent case from 2012 in which Apple won the court's decision. Samsung however says that Apple victory would stifle innovation. Apple on the other hand argues that Samsung winning over the case would weaken the protections to the new designs.
"One of the interesting things about this whole odyssey is it's a great demonstration of how slowly the law moves relative to technology," said Mark A. Lemley, a Stanford Law School professor and one of the people who signed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of Samsung. "Here, we're on the first-generation trial, but...we're generations behind what the companies are selling," he added.
Samsung said in a comment that it "looks forward to the Supreme Court's guidance on a very important matter that has the potential to stifle innovation and consumer choice." The mobile giant also said it is "honored to lead the charge in helping pave the way for future innovators and foster an environment where the fear of unreasonable law suits don't impinge upon their creativity."
The Rivalry History
The rivalry of the two tech industries considered in the Supreme Court case started in 2012 on design patents for a black, rectangular, round-cornered front face plus the surrounding rim-the bezel and a colourful 16 grid icons. The jury favored Apple awarding $1.05 billion in damages.
Samsung wanted the court to give guidance on what is covered by design patents (which protect the way an item is used and how it works) and also on what damages can be collected. But the Supreme Court is looking only at the second issue: "Where a patented design is applied only to a component of a product, should an award of infringer's profits be limited to profits attributable to that component?" CNET reported. This was supported by Dell, eBay, Facebook, Google and HP, 50 professors of intellectual-property law like Stanford and Georgetown universities and digital-rights nonprofits like Public Knowledge and Electronic Frontier Foundation.
On the other hand, Apple's argument gained sympathy from more than 100 design industry professionals such as Calvin Klein and Alexander Wang, saying that iPhone's sales could be hurt by Samsung's similar look on Apple's design which drove people to buy.
Another case was filed in April 2014, this time, on Galaxy S3 and iPhone 4S where Samsung was advised by jury to pay Apple $119.6 million for infringing some of its patents while Apple owed Samsung $158,400 for infringing one of the company's patents.
What is the effect of the Supreme Court's decision?
The decision will be made on the first quarter of 2017. Apple winning over Samsung would mean more court time for pending patent cases, retrial of previous cases. If the court sides with Samsung limiting the amount on infringing patents, that would mean more trials too. "Other current design patent cases and those going through appeal would face the new Supreme Court interpretation, which means damages would be much lower than in the past." according to CNET News.
Apple iPhone 7 vs Samsung Galaxy S7 by Photo Arena
