November 21, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Samsung Electronics said on June 28 it has reached an agreement with Apple to settle the latest legal dispute surrounding alleged smartphone design infringement

“We cannot provide any details other than that we reached an agreement with Apple,” a source from Samsung said.

Samsung refrained from disclosing other details, including the amount of compensation provided to Apple.

Industry watchers said the settlement apparently came as the prolonged dispute became a burden for both companies. The conflict between Samsung and Apple surrounding the alleged design infringement started in 2011.

The US company earlier claimed Samsung violated its designs, such as a “black rectangular front face with rounded corners,” a “rectangular front face with rounded corners and a raised rim” and a “grid of 16 colorful icons on a black screen.”

Last month, the US District Court in San Jose, California, ruled against Samsung and ordered the company to pay Apple US$539 million for infringing on its design.

Samsung shortly afterward called for a reconsideration of the ruling.

In 2015, Samsung compensated Apple with US$548 million, with design infringement accounting for US$390 million of the amount. Under last month’s ruling, it had to pay an additional US$140 million.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)