Apple’s $US1 billion patent win against Samsung slashed in half by a US court, possible new trial coming

Apple’s $US1 billion win in a patent trail against Samsung has been cut by $US450.5 million.

According to Bloomberg, the jury in the case relied on a formula from an Apple witness while calculating damages, despite the court finding Apple’s formula was impermissible.

Despite US District Judge Lucy Koh explicitly telling the jury not to use Apple’s formula in calculating damages, the jury appears to have used it regardless.

Koh also found that portions of the damages awarded for patent infringement were excessive because they may have included compensation for infringement before Samsung was on notice that Apple owned patents that were being infringed.

The matter is made more complicated, according to FOSS Patents, because while the jury set a damages figure per product for each of the 14 products found to infringe an Apple patent, the jury did not break down the damages per patent for each of the products, potentially necessitating another trial.

The original $US1.05 billion verdict was delivered during a court case in August last year, as part of a series of patent lawsuits between major smartphone manufacturers.