Apple's damages award from Samsung slashed by $450m

THE JUDGE in the Apple v. Samsung patents lawsuit has dramatically slashed Apple's damage award from Samsung by 45 percent and ordered a retrial on a handful of products.

Last August, Apple was awarded $1bn in damages from Samsung by a jury that found the Korean firm infringed patents relating to Apple's iPhones, iPads and iOS mobile operating system.

However, on Friday US District Court Judge Lucy Koh reduced the jury's damages award by $450.5m and ordered a new trial to reconsider damages related to 14 Samsung products.

Judge Koh also ruled that another trial on damages will not be held until after the parties' appeals are decided.

The Samsung products lined up for retrial includes the Samsung Nexus S 4G, the Galaxy S2 AT&T and the 7in Galaxy Tab.

In explaining the drastic reduction in damages, Judge Koh said that the jurors had not properly followed her instructions in calculating some damages, adding that further mistakes had been made in assessing when Apple had first notified Samsung about the alleged violations.

"The court has identified an impermissible legal theory on which the jury based its award and cannot reasonably calculate the amount of excess while effectuating the intent of the jury," Judge Koh said in her ruling, according to Reuters.

Samsung was pleased with Judge Koh's decision, but said it is actively seeking to further reduce the amount of damages it must pay to Apple.

A spokesperson said, "Samsung intends to seek further review as to the remaining award.

"We are also pleased that the court earlier found that Samsung had not acted willfully, denied Apple's request for a permanent injunction, and denied Apple's motion for increased damages."

Apple has not yet responded to our request for comment. µ