Samsung Agrees To Pay Apple $548 Million As Part Of Patent Dispute Stemming Back To 2011

SAN FRANCISCO -- Samsung this week announced it will pay Apple $548 million to settle a patent dispute over smartphone technology between the two companies that stems to 2011. But the South Korean tech giant said it hopes to recover the money by continuing to challenge the verdict in the case.

The Galaxy smartphone maker filed a statement with a U.S. District Court on Thursday, saying it would make the payment to comply with a partial judgment delivered in September that ruled favorably for Apple, but Samsung cushioned the announcement by saying that should an appeal alter the judgment, it hopes to recover all or some of the money.

“While we’ve agreed to pay Apple, we remain confident that our products do not infringe on Apple’s design patents, and we will continue to take all appropriate measures within the legal system to protect our products and our intellectual property,” Samsung said in a statement to the New York Times.

Apple, though, is having none of that. The iPhone maker said it disputes Samsung's position that it has any right to recover its payment. The Cupertino, California, company added that the ruling in the case “reinforces what courts around the world have already found: that Samsung willfully stole our ideas and copied our products.”

The case goes back to a lawsuit by Apple filed in 2011. At the time, Apple sought $2.5 billion in damages, but it was awarded about $1 billion a year later when it won the case. Since then, parts of the ruling have been dismissed. The payment in this instance is from one of two ongoing patent battles between the tech heavyweights.