Apple-Samsung Judge Weighs Damages After Rejecting Ban

Apple awaits a judge’s decision on its request for additional damages against Samsung for patent infringement after the iPhone maker lost its bid to block U.S. sales on 26 of the Galaxy maker’s devices. Apple failed to establish that consumer demand for Samsung products was driven by technology it stole, U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh in San Jose, California, said in her Dec. 17 ruling. While a jury found Samsung infringed six Apple patents, it isn’t in the public interest to ban Samsung’s devices because the infringing elements constituted a limited part of Samsung’s phones, Judge Koh said. The jury said Aug. 24 at the end of a trial that Samsung should pay $1.05 billion. Apple asked Judge Koh to increase the damages by $536 million, while Samsung says they should be reduced by more than $600 million. Judge Koh, who held a hearing on the matter Dec. 6, has yet to issue a ruling.