Apple: Samsung, you owe us $2.5B in damages

Battling Samsung in the U.S. over patent issues, Apple reckons that the amount of damages it's should come in at a cool $2.5 billion.

Apple is looking Samsung to fork over $2.5 billion to patent infringement claims in the U.S.

That's the figure bandied about by Apple in the ongoing patent infringement saga the two companies. But how did Apple cook up a figure?

Fleshed by Foss Patents' Florian Mueller, the amount is based the per-unit royalties that Apple believes it is due Samsung as part of the intellectual property rights lawsuit.

Drilling down the price tag unit, $2.02 covers the "overscroll bounce" technology cited the '318 patent. That technology lets users know they've reached the bottom of a screen or list by responding a bounce.

Another $3.10 covers the "scrolling API" technology the '915 patent. Another $2.02 is for the "tap to zoom and navigate" feature from the '163 patent. And finally, $24 covers the use of of Apple's "design patents or or trade dress rights."

Overall, that means the damages cover design and technology, but the bulk of the $2.5 billion is about design.

Mueller provided further insight Apple's calculations and thought process by sharing public redacted version of the initial trial brief below:.

'Samsung adopted its number one goal to [redacted] in the smartphone and tablet markets, and it chose compete by copying Apple. Samsung's infringing sales enabled Samsung to overtake Apple as the largest manufacturer smartphones in the world. Samsung has reaped billions of dollars profits and caused Apple to lose hundreds of millions of dollars through violation of Apple's intellectual property. Apple conservatively estimates as of March 31, 2012, Samsung has been unjustly enriched about [redacted; presumably $2 billion] and has additionally cost Apple about $500 million lost profits. Apple also conservatively estimates that it is entitled over $25 million in reasonable royalty damages the proportionately small set of remaining sales which it cannot obtain an award of Samsung's profits or Apple's own lost profits, a combined total of $2.525 billion.'

The battle the two began when Apple filed a lawsuit against Samsung in California, alleging the company had copied the "look and feel" of the iPad and iPhone for its Galaxy devices. Samsung soon took the fight overseas by filing countersuits various countries.

Each company has scored its own victories the overall war. Apple was recently ordered by a U.K. court run ads saying that Samsung didn't copy the iPad. But Samsung continues to suffer bans on certain products. A German court has ruled that existing sales ban on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 should be extended the entire European Union.

Despite efforts by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh convince the combatants to settle of court, a truce seems unlikely at this . A trial is scheduled to kick off on July 30 in federal court in San Jose, Calif.

CNET contacted both Apple and Samsung comment and will update the story if we get information.


Adapted from: CNET, July 24, 2012.