Apple, Samsung patent battle set for November
Judge Lucy Koh, who has presided over the Apple v. Samsung patent spat, has given a management order that a new trial will focus on recalculation of the $450.5 million award given to Apple in August.
Due to begin November 12, the new trial will decide whether the damage award was incorrectly given by the jury in the original patent dispute, according to a court filing. Koh has previously stated that the jury's damage award was incorrectly calculated in part, and only a new trial will determine the final amount to be awarded to the iPad and iPhone maker.
The new damage award could be more or less $450.5 million — which has already been reduced from its original amount of $1.05 billion in damages after the federal judge overturned the jury's decision. Koh believes that the jury's decision was based on a faulty understanding of the legal and patent issues involved.
However, the court order will not allow either Apple or its South Korean rival to expand the trial by including "new sales data, new products and new methodologies or theories," according to the Reuters news agency.
Apple's bid to increase the damage award fell on deaf ears; instead, Koh decided that a new trial based on the damages for 14 devices — including Samsung's Galaxy SII — is more appropriate. The new trial is aimed at offering a way for the reinstatement of damages cut from the original award. However, the court order has reinstated the jury award of $40.5 million related to the Galaxy SII AT&T variant. This particular device will not be included in the November battle between the two tech giants.
Originally, the Galaxy SII AT&T damage award was scrutinized due to damage calculations based on an incorrect timeframe. However, Apple is only entitled to damages for the sales period after the tech giant issued Samsung with a patent infringement notice.
Samsung had asked for the new trial to be delayed, citing validity concerns with a number of Apple-owned patents. Apple, on the other hand, has accused its rival of "dragging its feet at every turn." Last year, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) invalidated the bounce-back patent, although the future of two disputed inventions remain unclear. If USPTO's investigation happens to finish before November, Samsung will be allowed to request a stay on damages related to the patents in question.
"It's going to be 'Groundhog Day,'" Koh commented, referring to a film based around a man who relives the same day constantly. "There's going to be nothing new in this case."
Be that as it may, November will no doubt be circled on our calendars as the high-profile case continues.