Samsung just paid more than half a billion dollars to Apple.inc and Cupertino tech company is once again demanding additional $180 million from the Korean smartphone maker citing supplement damages and interest as the reason. Is Apple getting greedy?
Probably not.
Samsung is entering the new year and it received a bill of $180 million from Apple.inc. Samsung wont necessarily pay the amount. If reports are to be believed, it is once again preparing to fight Apple in the courtroom.
The rivalry between the two tech giants goes way back to the start of the smartphone era. Apple is accusing Samsung of lifting off its design whose patents lie with Apple.inc and using them in its smartphone line-up there by causing immense damage to the Apple products such as the iPhone and iPad.
Samsung retaliated and accused Apple of infringing on its own patents. The long standing patent war reached a final decision in the year 2012. The jury found Samsung guilty of infringing on some of the Apple’s patents. It did not ban the sales of Samsung’s galaxy devices as Apple requested but they did place a hefty fine of $1 billion on Samsung shoulders.
Samsung further challenged this decision in higher courts and subsequently the fine amount was reduced to half. The same was paid to Apple.inc on Dec 14. Now Apple wants additional damage amount from Samsung. This amount is labelled as supplement damages. In plain words, Apple wants Samsung to pay for infringing on its patents after the cut-off date of the jury trials.
Samsung vowed to fight back in the highest court in America.
The patent war between the companies seems to have no end and have been dragging on for an eternity now. Though the top smartphone makers are bitter rivals in the courtroom. They are also partners in manufacturing segment with Samsung providing components like memory chips, displays and System-On-Chip (soc) for various Apple products.
Stay tuned for additional information.
