April 19, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics on May 25 expressed discontent against the decision made by the US court, which ordered the company to pay its archrival Apple US$539 million for design infringement.

“Today’s decision flies in the face of a unanimous Supreme Court ruling in favor of Samsung on the scope of design patent damages,” the company said in a statement.

“We will consider all options to obtain an outcome that does not hinder creativity and fair competition for all companies and consumers,” it added.

The conflict between the two companies surrounding the alleged design infringement started in 2011. The first ruling that Samsung’s smartphones and tablet PCs have violated designs of Apple came in 2012.

Sources said Apple demanded US$1 billion as compensation, claiming Samsung raised the amount of profits by selling its controversial smartphones.

The US company claimed Samsung violated its designs, such as a “black rectangular front face with rounded corners,” a “rectangular front face with rounded corners and a raised rim,” and a “grid of 16 colorful icons on a black screen.”

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)