back to article Actually, yes, Samsung, you do have to pay Apple $120m

In yet another reversal in the Apple-Samsung patent war, Samsung was told on Friday it actually did have to pay Apple $120m for infringing three patents. The surprise decision [PDF] from the full Federal Appeals Court in Washington, DC, comes eight months after it was told by a smaller three-person appeals panel that it did …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "We the Supreme court of the United States of America find in favor of Apple inc and Samsung guilty of patent infringement"

    Sent from my iPhone.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    No surprise at all. This happens on a regular basis at the CAFC. When/if it gets to the Supreme Court, don't be too shocked when they reverse it again (against the CAFC). That's what happened in Alice v. CLS Holdings and more than a few other patent cases that got that far.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Federal Apples Court in Washington, DC

    TGIF

  4. cd

    Can they pay Apple with batteries?

    1. SuccessCase

      They wouldn't be legal tinder.

  5. Mage Silver badge

    Stupid

    Why don't they fix the USPTO and stop feeding the lawyers.

    In a sane world a huge percentage of USA so called "Design Patents" (Pure look & feel) and actual patents would be invalid in the first place.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Stupid

      Why don't they fix the USPTO and stop feeding the lawyers.

      Not going to happen, as that would mean a large number of people would have to figure out how to actually work for a living, even lawyers. Can't see that happen, sorry, these kind of systems feed on themselves, you mess with that at your peril.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Stupid

        Then we make it very simple. If another court, in another jurisdiction, says there is no valid patent here, the lawyers and judges concerned have joint and several personal liability for refunding the fine.

        Damages owed because of patents on rounded corners by a company that copied it's name from a fruit? What next, USPTO says if it rains we have to pay the weather forecaster?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Pint

          Re: Stupid

          They didn't copy their name from a fruit, they copied it from Apple Records. You know, the record company set up by The Beatles. Oh, and when The Beatles sued, they lost. Pity they didn't sue in texas init...

          A pint because 'spoons will be open soon.

          Cheers... Ishy

          1. Rolf Howarth

            Re: Stupid

            Err, not quite. Apple Records sued Apple Computer and they reached an out of court settlement that Apple Computer could use the Apple name but only in fields NOT relating in any way to music. Then Apple brought out the iPod and ITMS, so it was all set to go to court again but then Apple (Computer) paid Apple (Records) handsomely for the Apple name. And changed their name from Apple Computer to Apple Inc. So, no dispute that the name originally came from Apple Records, but Apple paid fair and square for all rights to use the name.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Stupid

        "... stop feeding the lawyers."

        I'm all for feeding the lawyers - to the sharks. I might even pay to watch it on netflix.

        1. Oengus
          Joke

          Re: Stupid

          I'm all for feeding the lawyers - to the sharks.

          Why don't sharks bite Lawyers?

          Professional courtesy.

    2. This post has been deleted by its author

  6. DNTP

    Charles Dickens posted:

    Apple v. Samsung drones on. This scarecrow of a suit has, over the course of time, become so complicated, that no man alive knows what it means. The parties to it understand it least; but it has been observed that no two Patent lawyers can talk about it for five minutes, without coming to a total disagreement as to all the premises…. ...Scores of persons have deliriously found themselves made parties in Apple v. Samsung, without knowing how or why; whole user groups have inherited legendary hatreds with the suit. The little plaintiff or defendant, who was promised a new iMac Blueberry G3 , has grown up, possessed himself of a Galaxy 7, and trotted away into the other world.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Charles Dickens posted:

      By the time these suits finally reach their conclusion the following will have happened:

      1) smartphones will be in museums, people will have brain implants instead

      2) Apple will be known primarily as a car company

      3) people will argue over whether Apple cars are better than Samsung branded Google cars

      4) Donald Trump III will preside over the ribbon cutting at the Trump hotel in Musk City, Mars

      5) flying cars and fusion power will still be 20-30 years away

      1. SL1979

        Re: Charles Dickens posted:

        "3) people will argue over whether Apple cars are better than Samsung branded Google cars"

        Well, I hope for everyone's sake that Samsung doesn't use the same consumer safety review process for their cars that they have been using for their phones as well as their washing machines!

        "It's okay, you just have to drive it under a certain speed, and make sure that the interior lights are turned off at all times, in order to lessen the chances of the car spontaneously exploding". ;-)

        1. Naselus

          Re: Charles Dickens posted:

          "Well, I hope for everyone's sake that Samsung doesn't use the same consumer safety review process"

          In fairness, Apple's self-driving car crashes will all be put down to the user not-driving it wrong.

          1. Lou 2
            FAIL

            Re: Charles Dickens posted:

            The Apple car will have dedicated service stations, fuel stations and you will need a specialized license to drive it. If you open the bonnet the car will brick itself forthwith.

  7. Frank N. Stein

    Kick them while they're down?

    It was the round corners that did Samsung in on this, wasn't it? Apple won't have to worry about Samsung eclipsing them for the rest of this year.

  8. swschrad

    "we're sorry. here, have a free phone. loaded Note 7."

    "and have a speed charger also. slip it in your briefcases, and we'll see you next week."

  9. fnj

    An idle fantasy

    This is just an idle fantasy, but exactly what could the court do if Samsung said "hell no, we ain't payin, so shaddup".

    1. bigtimehustler

      Re: An idle fantasy

      They would ban sale of Samsung devices which infringe the patents past and present in the US, possibly also arrest Samsung execs working/living in the US for contempt of court.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Apple can harass only companies like Samsung. They never dared to disturb company like Nokia or Motorolla. I remember it signing a huge, secret patent deal with old Nokia so that news doesn't hurt it's image in front of fanboys who think it as an inventor.

  11. anonymous boring coward Silver badge

    Samsung should just storm into its room, slam the door hard, and shout: "fine, I'll pay it!!! It's only $120m effing dollars!", and throw itself on the bed.

    End of story. Finally.

    1. Naselus

      Well, both sides must surely have spent nearly that much each by now. The whole thing is ultimately going to go Apple's way anyway; the EU tax case shows that legalistic protection of Apple is now part of US foreign policy.

  12. Dwarf

    Slide to unlock

    Does it matter that Apple no longer use slide to unlock in IOS 10 ?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Slide to unlock

      Apple has patented another method, and leaves the original patented mechanism as an option which people are switching back to (I assume you mean in iOS 10) especially if they don't have the latest device whose mechanics favour the new method...

  13. a_yank_lurker

    Hold the presses

    Apparently the CAFC is beginning to have a change of heart and is apparently sliding towards the opinion that software should not be patented. If this is true then the only issues a company can use to defend software are trademark and copyrights in the future. From Techdirt:

    https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20161005/15280135720/prominent-pro-patent-judge-issues-opinion-declaring-all-software-patents-bad.shtml

  14. Baldy50

    Rounded corners?

    My monitor has rounded corners so has my couch, my television, my dining table, my clock on the mantle piece, my chip fryer, cooker, worktops in the kitchen and a sh*t load of other stuff too long to list!

    As if a rounded corner was something new, I don't get it but the lawyers do in the folding kind! Just feel someone should be saying "Now children play nice" FFS.

    1. DryBones
      Coat

      Re: Rounded corners?

      Yeah, and gates and bathroom stalls have been "slide to unlock" for decades. Goes back to that "On a computer does not innovative make" bit.

      Hey, Samsung should change to "rotate to open", that's free and clear right?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Rounded corners?

        ""rotate to open", that's free and clear right?"

        Yes, but they didn't do that did they? Copied the green horizonal battery too, not? And about 117 other things in order to make their phone as close to an iPhone as they could. The "rounded corners" mysteriously had the same radius as the iPhone - wow - what a coincidence, 1/infinity probability.

        As far as I can determine, slide to unlock was a cool idea and implementation was made possible by the screen multi-touch implementation. It had a "wow" factor about it. There are an infinite number of alternative ways of doing the same thing. Samsung chose none of them. Geddit?

        For the anti-Apple pro-Samsung brigade, math is not on your side.

        1. anonymous boring coward Silver badge

          Re: Rounded corners?

          You will get downvoted because most people have no idea about design patents. They think it's something new and "petty". Tatra got payed damages from VW for Ferdinand copying it's designs, ffs.

        2. Lou 2
          Boffin

          Re: Rounded corners?

          Math is not on your side - do yourself a favour and check up on the sales of Apple vs Samsung phones.

          May somebody patent the swipe to wipe your bum and sue you.

  15. MAF

    Taxes?

    Is that before or after taxes?

    Here is an idea if you win a court battle on patents, you don't see a nickel of it unless you've paid your taxes...

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Why don't Samsung just offer Apple a truck load of Note 7s to heat their smart new building.

  17. Ken 16 Silver badge
    Trollface

    Can't Samsung just give the money to the Irish government?

    Bypass the middleman?

  18. Steven Roper

    May we live in interesting times

    With those kind of losses to Apple, plus the loss of sales by T-Mobile and AT&T pulling the made-of-explodium Note 7, Samsung may soon be finding the milk of US sales becoming unpalatably sour.

    If Samsung - a major source of Korea's trade income - can make more in China than the US, Korea could viably look at chucking the towel in on their ties to the US, like the Philippines has just done, and ink up a new trade deal with China. In that event there would be nothing stopping China from deposing the increasingly-irritant Kim regime and helping Korea re-unify under the manufacturing prosperity of the RoK in a new Sino-Korean alliance. And with the Philippines kicking the US troops off its turf, they also could well be on the brink of working out a deal with China themselves.

    With the Philippines and Korea onside, with Japan in a cultural and economic freefall due to its exploding epidemic of herbivore men and collapsing population, and the US about to plunge into Civil War 2.0 following the coming election, China would be able to push its Nine-Dash Line halfway across the Pacific without much opposition.

    It's certainly starting to look more and more like the American Empire's days are numbered. I'm not sure whether to be gratified or terrified at the possibility...

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