The post-trial rulings are almost all in, and they largely back up the original decision: Samsung did violate Apple's patents, but it did not do "willfully."
The updated orders come courtesy of Judge Lucy Koh of the Northern District of California, who presided over the entire Apple v. Samsung case from the start.
There are two chief developments in the case at this point. One, Apple will not receive any more money outside of the (already enormous) $1.05 billion it was originally awarded. And two, there's no way for Samsung to dodge the negative consequences of the ruling.
Back in August, Samsung was found in violation of seven Apple patents and was ordered to pay $1.05 billion to the Cupertino-based company in damages. Samsung counter-sued, claiming that Apple was the one infringing on its patents, though Apple was found innocent of such charges.
If a company is found to have willfully infringed on a patent, however, its payout could be increased threefold. Apple asked more about $400 million in bonus damages after the original ruling, while Samsung filed motions declaring Apple's patents void and asking for a new trial.
Neither company was able to budge Judge Koh, who denied three of four motions on Tuesday. She said that to prove willful infringement, Apple has to "prove by clear and convincing evidence that there was an 'objectively high likelihood that its actions constituted infringement of a valid patent.'" Clearly, it was unable to do so.
Additionally, Koh said that Apple's claim to more money doesn't make any sense.
"Apple is making two inconsistent arguments: first, that money cannot compensate Apple for the harm its lost market share may cause going forward, and second, that the Court should award $400 million to compensate Apple for lost market share," the judge said. "If an amount cannot be calculated to compensate for this loss, then it is unclear why $400 million would be an appropriate award."
As for Samsung, the company may not be able to get a new trial, but there is still the possibility that its damage payout might be decreased. There is one more order coming, which will deal with the possibility of a new, separate trial to deal squarely with damages.
Regardless, once all the post-trial motions have been officially resolved, it's widely expected that both companies will appeal the rulings. Apple, which has failed to earn an injunction against Samsung's products, has already appealed, and it's hard to believe that Samsung won't be appealing a case as it is required to fork over more than a billion dollars to its chief rival.
