An American federal court judge has listed a new trial date for November for the Apple v. Samsung patent battle to decide damage costs.
Judge Lucy Koh presided over the patent dispute last year, but has decided that a new trial should be held to determine whether the $405.5 million (£261.8 million) in damages awarded to Apple in August should still stand.
According to the court filing, the new trial will occur between November 12 – 18 and will decide whether the damages were awarded incorrectly by the jury in the original patent dispute. Koh believes that only a new trial could define the final amount to be received by the iPhone 5 manufacturer.
Originally, Apple was in line to receive $1.05 billion (£678 million) but Koh overturned the jury’s decision and cut the amount by 40 per cent to the $405.5 million (£261.8 million) figure. The judge now feels the jury were incorrect due to their faulty understanding of patent and legal issues involved in the case.
The damages awarded could be less or more than the current sum, but whatever happens the trial will only be used to discuss the figure. According to the court order, neither Samsung nor Apple can increase the remit of the trial to include “new sales data, new products and new methodologies or theories”.
Apple has already asked for an increased award, but Koh rejected it, instead drawing up the court date for this November trial. The patent issues relate to 14 Samsung devices, including the Samsung Galaxy S2.
“It’s going to be ‘Groundhog Day’,” commented Koh. “There’s going to be nothing new in this case.”
Concerned with the validity of several Apple owned patents, Samsung has requested the new trial be delayed, but Apple merely accused the South Korean company of “dragging its feet at every turn.”
Read our review of the Samsung Galaxy S4 flagship
Via: ZDNet
