US Appeals Court Reverses Part Of Apple Inc.'s $930m Verdict Against Samsung

A U.S. appeals court ruled Monday a $930 million penalty against Samsung Electronics for infringing on patents held by Apple Inc. must be reduced, Reuters reported. But the ruling doesn’t let Samsung completely off the hook.

The court upheld the verdict issued in by a federal jury in San Jose, California, that some of Samsung’s smartphones -- including the Galaxy S 2 -- had infringed on Apple’s patents. However, it also found Samsung’s smartphones did not infringe on the overall look of the iPhone or its packaging. The portion of Apple's claims that the ruling does protect is a number of Apple's patents, including pinch and zoom, and double tap to zoom, MacRumors reported.

At the time of the original trial, Samsung was found guilty of infringement and was fined $930 million, which it then appealed. The ruling could see Samsung’s fine reduced by as much as $328 million. But it also denies Samsung’s motion for a retrial.

Apple had previously sought to block the sale of the Samsung phones involved in the lawsuit, but failed to convince the judge it would suffer irreparable harm, Fortune said.