Apple and Samsung End Seven-Year Legal Battle Over Who Copied Whom

Jun. 28, 2018

A year later Samsung was fined over a $1 billion for the violation, but it refused to abide by the judgment andthe case eventually reached the Supreme Courtof the USA which ruled in the favor of Apple, although lowering the penalty to $399 million. The case was sent back to a lower court for financial adjustmentswhere last month,Samsung was ordered to pay Apple $539 million.Image Courtesy: ETNews

The case, however, wasmore than just about the moneyand the two companies had already spent millions on attorney fees to defend their claims. This shows the importance of patents which targeted now old features such as the home-screen dock, pinch to zoom and other scrolling utilities, slide to unlock, and even rounded icons.

While these things eventually became utterly common and some faded out of existence, the case was aboutSamsung using these features in the early smartphone era to gain a market leadover Apple. Neither of the companies has commented on settlement amount, but perhaps grew tired of the protracted legal battle.

Despite this, Apple has continued its partnership with Samsung’s display division which has been theprimary supplier of iPhone displaysfor many years.