Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) management turned on the tears, so to speak, as the retrial on damages continued today. At issue is just how much Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) should have to pay Apple for infringing upon its patents. The trial has been going on for most of the week. Shara Tibken of CNET provided an update today.
Apple blames Samsung for questions about its design abilities
Phil Schiller, who heads up Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s marketing department, said in court today the fact that Samsung’s devices looked so much like the iPhone made it too difficult for the company to differentiate its products from others. As a result, he said it became more difficult to sell the company’s devices, particularly to new customers.
The executive also emphasized that their marketing strategy had been to make the product the hero and show off capabilities and features which set Apple’s products apart from others. However, Schiller claims Samsung’s infringing devices caused customers to question the company’s “design skills in a way they never used to.”
Apple damaged by Samsung’s copying of features
He also said that copying just one of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s features was just as bad for it as copying 50 of them. He said Apple’s whole business is built around creating features and designs that set it apart from others. According to Schiller, the reason Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) was able to grab such a big chunk of the smartphone market was because it copied Apple. He also said Samsung’s copying of Apple was why it did so much better than the makers of other Android devices.
Apple’s retrial continues
Today was the fourth day of a retrial for damages. Samsung had been ordered to pay Apple about $1 billion in damages for infringing on its patents, but in March, a judge vacated approximately $450 million of that amount. She said the jury did not calculate the proper amount. Samsung will still have to pay the roughly $600 million left on the original damages award. This retrial is about how much more the company will have to pay on top of it.
