U.S. court reinstates Apple $120 million patent win over Samsung

(Reuters) — A federal appeals court on Friday reinstated a $120 million jury award for Apple Inc against Samsung, marking the latest twist in the fierce patent war between the world’s top smartphone manufacturers.

The court said that there was substantial evidence for the jury verdict related to Samsung’s infringement of Apple patents on its slide-to-unlock and autocorrect features, as well as quick links, which automatically turn information like addresses and phone numbers into links.

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Friday’s decision was made by the full slate of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. In an 8-3 ruling, the judges said that a previous panel of the same court should not have overturned the verdict last February.

The three-judge panel did not follow U.S. Supreme Court limits on the scope of its review, because it examined evidence outside the record of the case, the decision said.

Representatives for Samsung and Apple could not immediately be reached for comment.

The appeal stems from a May 2014 verdict from a federal court in San Jose, California, which ordered Samsung to pay $119.6 million for using the Apple features without permission.

Infringement of the quick links feature accounted for nearly $99 million of the damages.

The jury had also found that Apple infringed a Samsung patent on digital photo technology and awarded $158,400 in damages. Friday’s decision upholds that award.

The two companies have been battling over mobile device technology patents for years, with Apple mostly prevailing.

In December, Samsung paid Apple $548.2 million stemming from a separate patent case. Part of that dispute has been appealed to the Supreme Court, which will hear it on Tuesday.

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James Gibson, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, said in an email to Reuters that Friday’s ruling is based on a procedural issue rather than a disagreement over patent law.

“But this seemingly pedestrian ruling is an important precedent for those who want patent protection going forward – and it’s a big win for Apple.”

The case is Apple Inc v. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd et al, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 15-1171.

(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Andrew Hay)

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