Apple Inc (AAPL)

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Appeals Court Affirms Samsung Infringed On Apple's iPhone Patents

Source: Dow Jones News
WASHINGTON—A federal appeals court on Monday handed a partial victory to Apple Inc., ruling smartphone rival Samsung Electronics Co. infringed the iPhone maker's intellectual property but setting aside part of a $930 million jury award.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which handles patent lawsuit appeals, affirmed a jury's findings that Samsung infringed several Apple patents. The appeals court, however, ruled against Apple's so-called "trade dress" claims related to the distinctive look of the iPhone.

The appeals court sent the case back to the trial level for the damages award to be reduced for the portion of the case Apple lost on appeal. Samsung had been seeking to have the jury award lowered by $382 million because of the jury's trade-dress findings that Samsung argued were erroneous.

The appeals court battle came after an August 2012 trial in San Jose in which a federal jury found that a range of Samsung devices, including the Galaxy S II and the Droid Charge, infringed Apple's patents.

Jurors originally awarded $1.05 billion in damages, but that figure was reduced to $930 million after the trial judge called for a retrial on some damages issues.