Samsung notched a big legal victory on Friday when a U.S. appeals court overturned a May 2014 verdict ordering the South Korean company to pay Apple $119.6 million for infringing on smartphone patents. The court also confirmed that Apple had infringed on one of Samsung’s patents, according to Reuters.
The unanimous ruling, which came from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., upturned a California jury’s decision in May 2014 that Samsung had infringed on Apple’s “quick links,” slide-to-unlock, and autocorrect patents on all its mobile devices. The court also upheld an earlier decision that Apple violated Samsung’s patent for an “apparatus for recording and reproducing digital image and speech,” which means Apple has to pay Samsung $158,400.
This marks a rare victory for Samsung in its ongoing war with Apple over patent infringements. In December, Samsung was ordered to pay $548 million to Apple, which followed up with the iPhone maker asking a U.S. court in San Jose, California, to force Samsung to pay them an additional $180 million for “supplemental damages for continued infringement, plus interest.”
Apple first sued Samsung for patent violations and design theft in 2011, which resulted in an order for Samsung to pay $930 million to Apple. That figure was subsequently lowered by about $382 million by an appeals court.
Friday’s decision marked a “win for consumer choice and puts competition back where it belongs – in the marketplace, not in the courtroom,” a Samsung spokeswoman said.
An Apple spokeswoman declined to give Reuters a comment about the ruling.
