Apple vs. Samsung Patent Saga Update: Cupertino Giant Awarded $120 Million For South Korea Brand’s Infringement Of Patented Features

Apple and Samsung are back to where they were two years ago. A federal appeals court just reinstated the May 2014 verdict that would award the Cupertino giant with $120 million after it was proven that the South Korea brand indeed infringed some patents.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the federal appeals court reinstated the $119.6 million jury verdict in favor of Tim Cook’s company in its fight against Samsung that was overturned by a U.S. circuit appeals in February.

The case centers on three key smartphone functions that were patented by Apple: slide-to-unlock, autocorrect and the feature that automatically transforms information into links called quick links. By reinstating the verdict, the court is saying that there was substantial evidence to prove that Samsung infringed Apple’s patents.

The reinstatement was not reached unanimously as three out of the 11 judges were not in favor of reinstating Apple’s victory. Nevertheless, the majority of the appeals court judges saw that the three-judge panel that overturned the case six months ago did not follow the U.S. Supreme Court limits on the scope of its review by examining outside evidence, as per Reuters.

Because the three-judge panel acted incorrectly in ruling after taking into account information not provided in the first trial, the federal appeals court has decided to reinstate the first ruling and also added that Apple should also pay Samsung $158,400 in damages because the Cupertino giant infringed a video and gallery patent of the South Korea tech company, Engadget has learned.

Out of the three patented features, the one pertaining to quick links gave Apple entitlement to over $98 million in damages, since the Cupertino giant invented the feature. Regarding the slide-to-unlock feature, it was said that there was “substantial evidence of copying by Samsung.” As for the autocorrect feature, the appeals court rejected Samsung’s argument that Apple’s patent was invalid. This now accounts for $18 million out of the total amount that Apple is being awarded.

Both Apple and Samsung have yet to comment on this new development in their long-running war over patents.