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 The federal judge presiding over the patent trial granted the jury's
request Tuesday before the smartphone rivals' lawyers delivered
their closing arguments. The one-week trial is being held to
determine damages for 13 of the 26 devices an earlier jury said
Samsung infringed Apple's patents in making.
Apple Inc. is demanding $380 million. Samsung counters that it only
owes $52 million for using features such as "pinch-to-zoom" in the
13 older-generation products.
The jurors deliberated for about four hours Tuesday and were
scheduled to resume Wednesday morning.
An earlier jury found Samsung had infringed Apple's patents in
making and selling 26 products and awarded Apple $1.05 billion. But
U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh ruled that the jury miscalculated
damages for 13 products. The two companies have each won and lost
legal skirmishes over the past couple of years, and analysts predict
continued litigation for months to come.
The current proceedings are somewhat of a warm-up for a much larger
trial scheduled for March. That's when Apple's claims that Samsung's
newer and current products are also copying the iPhone and iPad will
be considered by a jury.
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Apple's attempts to ban Samsung from selling some of the devices in
question got a leg up Monday. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., ordered Koh to reconsider
Apple's demands that some of the products a jury found infringed
Apple's patents be barred for sale in the United States. Koh in
December turned down Apple, ruling that the company didn't prove
that consumers bought Samsung devices instead of Apple devices
because of the infringement.
The appeals court told Koh to apply a different legal standard that
favors Apple's arguments. The ruling could come into play next year
if Apple prevails at trial and seeks another sales ban on the newer
products.
The two companies are locked in legal battles around the globe for
supremacy in the more than $300 billion smartphone market.
[Associated
Press; PAUL ELIAS]
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