Judge Lucy Koh reduced the damages awarded to Apple down to $598,908,892 — and ordered a new trial to determine the remaining balance. In an order this morning, Koh stated that “the Court identified an impermissible legal theory on which the jury based its award,” and as such was reducing the original $1.049 billion awarded to Apple in the trial’s August verdict. She ordered that a new trial take place to determine new damages for the amount she cut — That is about $450,514,650 — but said that she encouraged both sides to go through the appeals process before proceeding straight to a new trial.
The judge found two main errors in the way the jury calculated the damages awarded to Apple. They used Samsung’s profits to determine the amount the company owed for infringing some of Apple’s utility patents — a practice only appropriate when calculating damages owed when design patents have been infringed. They also erred when calculating the time period Apple should be awarded damages for. Judge Koh explains that Apple was only due damages for product sales that occurred after Cupertino informed Samsung of its belief that the violations were taking place.
While the amount Samsung owes Apple has been reduced, it’s important to note that Judge Koh didn’t declare that the jury was incorrect in assessing whether Samsung had infringed upon Apple’s intellectual property; those decisions themselves still stand.
