Damages retrial in Apple/Samsung case kicks off today
A jury trial to determine just how much Samsung owes Apple for patent infringement commenced today in the US District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose, Calif. Recall that a jury initially awarded Apple US$1.05 billion in damages back in August of 2012 after finding that an array of Samsung smartphones infringed upon Apple design and utility patents.
Following that judgment, it emerged that the jury may have made some errors in calculating the damages amount owed to Apple. As a result, Judge Lucy Koh determined that $450 million of the $1.05 billion judgment needed to be recalculated. And so, a retrial on the matter was set and kicked off today in San Jose. The trial is scheduled to last for six days.
It's important to note that whatever the jury decides, their decision won't have much of an impact on the average consumer. Indeed, many of the devices found to be infringing during Apple and Samsung's first trial have long been replaced by newer devices. This retrial is rather simple insofar as the only issue up for debate is just how much money Samsung will have to fork over to Apple.
Still, it'll be interesting to keep an eye on this retrial because there's no telling what type of information may emerge over the course of the next few days. While we're not likely to see any more iPhone prototypes, recall that former Apple exec Scott Forstall may be called to the stand. Seeing as he's been conspicuously absent since being shown the door at Apple, that would certainly be an interesting turn of events.
If you'd like to keep up with the minute-by-minute proceedings -- which began earlier today at 11:30 AM ET -- head on over to the San Jose Mercury News where Howard Mintz is running an informative liveblog of all the latest happenings from the courtroom.
