Last week, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh said that $550 million of Apple's $1 billion reward against Samsung for patent infringement was properly calculated while the remaining $450 needed to be reassessed.
Judge Koh now tells Apple that assumptions as to when Samsung may have started working around the iPhone maker's patents aren't enough to go after lost profits.
This assumes that Samsung could have started to work around Apple's patents after receiving notification of infringement, meaning the time frame for four patents in question would fall outside of Apple's complaint. Though the ruling limits the scope those damages can cover, it doesn't preclude Apple from seeking damages for the patents.
Foss Patents writer Florian Mueller calls the logic "absurd" in a recent blog post using an interesting analogy.
"Which driver would accelerate way beyond a speed limit and then hit the brakes with full force for no reason? But if a driver is speeding and suddenly sees the flashing red light of traffic enforcement camera, then the instinctive reaction is to hit the brakes, though it's too late anyway if your car triggered it."
The ruling comes as Apple senior vice president Phil Schiller took the stand to say that the infringements hurt the company by making it "harder for us to get new customers and bring them into our ecosystem."
News comes after an federal appeals court gave Apple another chance in attempting to bar Samsung from selling phones and tablets the Cupertino-based company says infringed on its patents.
Ruling unanimously that Judge Koh in San Jose Calif. made errors last year when denying Apple's request for an injunction against Samsung's 26 products, the appeals court said the judge should spend more time considering evidence offered by Apple to support arguments that the company was being hurt by Samsung's infringements.
In more Apple news, the iPhone maker reportedly purchased Israel-based 3D-sensing company PrimeSense for $345 million. PrimeSense's technology powers Microsoft's original Kinect camera sensor for the Xbox 360 video-game console.
