Apple v. Samsung judge calls for ‘global peace’ in patent wars

Months after a San Jose jury awarded Apple more than $1 billion in damages in its case against Samsung, the trial’s judge, Lucy Koh, is now aiming to settle the issues between the two companies.

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“I think it’s time for global peace,” Judge Koh told Apple and Samsung’s lawyers at yesterday’s hearing, according to the AP. Specifically, she’s referring to a calming of the patent wars prevalent in the technology world over the past decade, and which the Apple v. Samsung case is a poster child.

While one analyst predicted that Apple would be the overall winner in yesterday’s hearing, it appears that Judge Koh isn’t leaning towards either company. Samsung is aiming to cut its massive fines in the trial and is calling for a new trial, while Apple is pushing to increase the fines and potentially ban the sales of certain Samsung phones. Koh didn’t seem to favor either of those outcomes.

Samsung’s $1.05 billion fee may end up being reduced as Judge Koh looks at the line items of the jury’s damage calculation. For example, the jurors noted Samsung owed Apple almost $58 million for using Apple’s “tap and zoom” feature in the Samsung Prevail smartphone, but Koh noted that figure was too high. Instead, Apple could end up collecting $8 million over that infringement.

This latest round of hearings won’t be the end of the Apple v. Samsung trial. It’s expected to hit the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., and it could potentially reach the Supreme Court, according to the AP.