The legal stoush between Samsung and Apple in the US continues, with Samsung seeking a US appeals court toss a US$930 million verdict won by Apple, arguing it didn’t infringe on iPhone patents.As reported by Bloomberg, Samsung contends Apple’s design patents covered little more than rounded corners or logical ways of making a phone.
“They awarded Samsung’s total profit for all of these phones – this is absurd,” Bloomberg reported Kathleen Sullivan, representing Samsung, as telling the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington.
“It’s like awarding the profit of an entire car because of infringement of the design of the cup-holder.”
Apple, meanwhile, contends a rash of copycats emerged following the introduction of the iPhone into the market in 2007.
Within months of the iPhone’s introduction, Samsung was taking the phone apart to see what made it special, Bloomberg reported Apple lawyer William Lee of WilmerHale as stating to the three-judge panel.
“After two years, their market share was plummeting,” Bloomberg reported Lee as stating. “In three months, they came up with something that was identical” to the iPhone.
While Samsung and Apple have ended litigation against each other in other countries, they are continuing to pursue legal action in the US courts.
A ruling isn’t expected by the court for several months.
