Bloomberg has reported that a Judge that presided over an Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) patent case in California has ordered a new trial for some Samsung products. Judge Lucy Koh presided over the trial over intellectual property last year. In that case Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) won what was seen as a resounding victory over Apple.
The details of the new trial are scant, but it appears that some Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) products will be looked at again by a new jury. The original case ended with nine jurors deciding that Samsung had infringed on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) intellectual property. The South Korean company was ordered to pay more than $1 billion in damages.
That case had its ebb and flow, with the Judge ruling for and against motions from both parties. One of the most common themes of the trial, emanating from Judge Koh, was the damage the patent battles could do to the industry. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) won that round, but it was not the last in San Jose.
Today’s ruling lowered the damages awarded to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to $450.5 million, and rejected an Apple appeal to have the jury’s damages increased. The judge said that Samsung deserves to have new trial over patent disputes for its Galaxy Prevail smartphone among others.
The Judge did offer Apple some consolation, saying that the company was owed fees for sales of infringing Samsung products. Those products were not considered by the jury in awarding damages. The Judge said that she would wait until all appeals were completed before she would award those damages.
Judge Koh said that the companies should review her orders before a new trial, and that they would be given time to do so. The new trial will take place in San Jose and will be presided over by the same judge.
The ruling means that the patent wars are far from over, and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will still have to chase after Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) for alleged infringement. Neither company managed to secure the holy grail of patent trials, the banning of infringing products from store shelves, and the damages awarded to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) were a tiny part of the international smartphone market controlled by the two companies.
