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Jury orders Samsung to pay Apple $290 million for patent infringement

Jury orders Samsung to pay Apple $290 million for patent infringement

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In the damages retrial between Apple and Samsung we've seen accusations of racial bias and claims that the iPad mini wasn't inspired by the success of 7-inch tablets, but now we have the only piece of information that matters. The jury has just reached its verdict, and decided that Samsung should pay Apple over $290 million for infringing on the company's patents.

Two juries have now awarded Apple a total of approximately $900 million

In August of last year a different jury found that Samsung was guilty of infringing Apple patents with a range of devices. Samsung had initially been ordered to pay Apple $1.049 billion in damages, but after further legal wrangling Judge Lucy Koh determined that the jury had incorrectly determined the amount of damages — and cut the amount down to less than $600 million. The balance of the amount was the subject of the damages retrial that's been taking place. According to the jury's verdict form, the total amount is $290,456,793, which is a significant drop from the more than $450 million that Koh cut, but it's clearly not the kind of number Samsung was looking for. Apple had been asking for $380 million out of the damages retrial, while Samsung was targeting a mere $52 million.

While the jury went into deliberations on Tuesday it wasn't certain that they'd come back with a verdict this week. They'd recently been engaging in a back and forth over their lunch menu — not the kind of behavior one would necessarily expect from a jury that was close to wrapping things up. Then again, before coming out to read the verdict one of the jury's last requests was that they be provided with a copy of the courtroom artist's depiction of them, so perhaps they were just trying to get the most out of the situation.

Let the appeals begin... again

After a 30-minute review period, the legal teams reconvened to discuss their thoughts. Samsung had no objections, while Apple had a quibble over a mere two dollars. Both sides agree to not dispute that amount, and the jury was then dismissed for the day. Of course, with the closing of one chapter comes the opening of another: the appeals process. Samsung will undoubtedly appeal today's decision as soon as possible, and Apple will likely do the same, trying for even more money. The only thing that could really put an end to the legal battles between the two giants would be a settlement agreement — and despite the urging of Judge Koh over the past year, that still seems to be as far away as ever.

Update: Apple has commented on the verdict in a statement to All Things D. "For Apple, this case has always been about more than patents and money," the statement reads. "It has been about innovation and the hard work that goes into inventing products that people love. While it's impossible to put a price tag on those values, we are grateful to the jury for showing Samsung that copying has a cost."

Update 2: Samsung has also weighed in on today's results.

"We are disappointed by today's decision, which is based in large part on a patent that the US Patent and Trademark Office has recently deemed invalid. While we move forward with our post-trial motions and appeals, we will continue to innovate with groundbreaking technologies and great products that are loved by our many customers all around the world."

Matt Macari contributed to this report.