Apple, Samsung settle seven-year legal battle over design patent infringement

This year a jury set out to decide if Samsung owed Apple $1 billion for the infringement or a "measly" $28 million.

The case had been sent back to the district court following a Supreme Court decision to revisit an earlier Dollars 400 million damage award.

A patent infringement case brought by Apple against Samsung, in which it accused the South Korean tech giant of ripping off the iPhone in a case that went all the way to the United States supreme court, is over.

In May, a US jury awarded Apple US$539 million (S$737 million), after Samsung had previously paid Apple US$399 million to compensate for patent infringement.

"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", the court document says. However, the terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

An Apple spokesman declined comment.

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The legal fight started in 2011, when Apple sued its South Korean competitor, seeking more than $2 billion in damages.

Anchor: South Korea's Samsung Electronics and USA tech giant Apple have finally settled a patent dispute over allegations that Samsung copied the design of the iPhone.

After a loss at trial, Samsung appealed to the US Supreme Court.

As the settlement made headlines, Apple said in a statement, "We believe deeply in the value of design, and our teams work tirelessly to create innovative products that delight our customers". Apple initially prosecuted Samsung in 2011, for replicating the design of the iPhone, putting in motion a series of counter suits, attempts and pleadings involving a halt at the Supreme Court in 2016.

"This settlement marks the official end of the 'smartphone patent wars, '" said Brian Love, an assistant professor at the Santa Clara University School of Law.

Even so, Carrier added that Samsung and Apple "likely realized that it was time to move on".