Tech giants Samsung Electronics and Apple are headed back to court for another trial looking into design patent infringement as a US federal judge has ordered a new trial in the case. The three Apple patents covered design elements of the iPhone such as its black rectangular front face, rounded corners, and colorful grid of icons for programs and apps.
The judgement was made by Judge Lucy Koh of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, with the ruling spotted and shared by patent lawyer Florian Mueller. Kuo is a judge that has been involved with Apple and Samsung since the first trial in 2012. Apple and Samsung now have until October 25 to propose a date for the retrial, although Mueller suggests there is a 30 per cent chance that the two companies will settle out-of-court instead.
“The Court finds that the jury instructions given at trial did not accurately reflect the law and that the instructions prejudiced Samsung by precluding the jury from considering whether the relevant article of manufacture … was something other than the entire phone,” Kuo wrote in the order.
The case is Apple Inc v Samsung Electronics Co et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 11-01846.
Earlier in 2012, the lawsuit was settled with a court ordering Samsung to pay damages to Apple.
Companies such as Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google have said an Apple win would encourage owners of design patents to sue for huge, unfair awards on products containing hundreds of features that are costly to develop.
