By Sam Hananel
WASHINGTON (AP) --A unanimous Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with smartphone maker Samsung in its high-profile patent dispute with Apple over design of the iPhone.
The justices said Samsung may not be required to pay all the profits it earned from 11 phone models because the features at issue are only a tiny part of the devices.
Apple had won a $399 million judgment against Samsung for copying parts of the iPhone's patented design, but the case now returns to a lower court to decide what Samsung must pay.
The case is part of a series of disputes between the technology rivals that began in 2011. Apple accused Samsung of duplicating a handful of distinctive iPhone features for which Apple holds patents: the flat screen, the rounded rectangle shape of the phone, and the layout of icons on the screen.
At issue was how much Samsung is required to compensate Apple under an 1887 law that requires patent infringers to pay "total profit." Apple said that meant all the profits from the phone sales, while Samsung argued it was limited to profits related to the specific components that were copied.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for the court that the law does not require damages to be based on the entire product, but can be limited to only a component of the product. The decision overturned a ruling from a federal appeals court in Washington, which said that Apple was entitled to all the profits.
But the high court declined to lay out a specific test for how such damage awards should be calculated. Sotomayor said doing so was not necessary and the justices left it up to lower courts to resolve.
Samsung had argued that the hefty award ignored the fact that its phones contain more than 200,000 other patents that Apple does not own. Apple said the verdict was fair because the iPhone's success was directly tied to its distinctive look.
Droga5 Appoints Emma Montgomery As Global Chief Strategy Officer
Creative agency network Droga5 has appointed Emma Montgomery as global chief strategy officer. She is the third global appointment for the agency this year, with Pelle Sjoenell named worldwide chief creative officer this past March, and global CEO Mark Green recently appointed this fall. Montgomery will be responsible for connecting and supercharging Droga5’s strategy and creative offerings globally. She will be based in its headquarters in New York City.
“Emma is a world-class strategic leader and authority that I’ve long admired and dreamt of being partners-in-crime with,” said Sjoenell. “Her work inspires the creativity that connects people and brands in ways that move business and culture forward, so I’m excited to finally be able to work with her alongside Mark, and to see her lead and further strengthen our leadership and strategy teams around the world.”
Montgomery joins Droga5 after serving as CEO of DDB Chicago. She’s been in the industry for over 20 years, and has served in several high-level leadership positions throughout her career, including as president and CSO of Leo Burnett Chicago, global CSO of TBWA, and CEO of Leo Burnett Australia. She’s also worked across a breadth of categories and multiple global clients such as Kraft, Aldi, Diageo and Molson Coors, among many others, including challenger brands and startups.
“I’m excited to join Droga5 and have the opportunity to help carve out a new path for the brand globally, building on its tremendous legacy of creative leadership,” said Montgomery. “The potential of Droga5, combined with the possibilities of Accenture Song, was too exciting to pass up. No other agency has what they have, and as marketing shifts, the chance to make creativity a genuine... Read More