A seven year legal feud that’s been the tech equivalent of the Hatfields and the McCoys has finally been resolved.
Apple and Samsung have finally settled their ongoing legal battle, according to court documents filed with the Northern District Court of California this morning.
In the document, Apple and Samsung said they have agreed to drop and settle the remaining claims and counter claims in the design patent legal battle that saw them back in court in May.
While the exact terms of the settlement were not included in the court document, Samsung had been ordered by the jury to pay Apple $539 million following the May damages retrial.
Per the court document:
Plaintiff Apple Inc. and Defendants Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Samsung Electronics America, Inc., and Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC would like to inform the Court that they have agreed to drop and settle their remaining claims and counterclaims in this matter.
IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED, by and between the parties and subject to the approval of the Court, that pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 41(a) and 41(c), all remaining claims and counterclaims in this action are hereby dismissed with prejudice, to the extent such are still pending, and all parties shall bear their own attorneys’ fees and costs.
Both Apple and Samsung had been at each other’s throats since 2011, when Apple sued Samsung for violating Apple design patents with five Android devices sold between 2010 and 2011.
Samsung was later found guilty of infringing on Apple’s patents in 2012, albeit the two firms spent the last six years arguing over the total amount Samsung would be forced to pay Apple given the violation.
Samsung, in turn, argued that it should only be responsible for the damages that applied to the segments of the iPhone’s design that it copied, while Apple demanded payment for the full value of the iPhone.
The court in May largely sided with Apple, ordering Samsung to pay $539 million, a decision Samsung was not happy with because it was over the $399 million Samsung had originally gotten the payment down to following multiple appeals, and more than the $28 million it insisted it owed. The South Korean company filed an another appeal demanding a new trial on June 11, but has now dropped all appeals since a settlement has been reached.
Apple has declined to comment directly on the settlement, referring interested parties to its statement released following the May verdict:
We believe deeply in the value of design, and our teams work tirelessly to create innovative products that delight our customers. This case has always been about more than money. Apple ignited the smartphone revolution with iPhone and it is a fact that Samsung blatantly copied our design. It is important that we continue to protect the hard work and innovation of so many people at Apple.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.