Whats $711M Among Friends, Samsung Forced To Cough Up In Fight With Apple
0Overall Score

They have been fighting each other for years despite being key manufacturing partners, now Samsung who makes millions manufacturing parts for Apple products has agreed to cough up A$711 million to settle patent fights between the two Companies.

Samsung has agreed to pay Apple the money after Apple were awarded court-ordered damages after fighting each other in various US Courts. The fight has seen lawyers pocket tens of millions on both sides. 

In a filing in the U.S. District Court in California, Samsung said it will pay the damages after a court denied the company’s latest appeal in the case.

However, Samsung, who is still throwing punches, said it might seek reimbursement from Apple depending on any future rulings from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or the U.S. Supreme Court.

Apple first sued Samsung in April 2011, saying its Korean rival had copied the look and feel of the iPhone. A jury ruled in favour of Apple in 2012 and awarded US$1.05 billion in damages.

Samsung agreed to pay roughly half that amount-represented by this month’s payment-following several other legal proceedings. In the spring, the two companies will face off in the San Jose court over an additional US$400 million from the original award.

The two companies also sued each other in courts around the world after Apple first filed suit in 2011, but they agreed to drop all litigation outside the U.S. last year. Beyond that, Samsung is appealing a $120 million damage award for violating Apple software patents from a second U.S. trial in 2014.

“While we’ve agreed to pay Apple, we remain confident that our products do not infringe on Apple’s design patents, and we will continue to take all appropriate measures within the legal system to protect our products and our intellectual property,” said Samsung spokeswoman Danielle Meister Cohen.