While successful, at least temporarily, in having its massive fine reduced, Samsung couldn't convince the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear the patent suit Apple raised against its Korean frenemy.
It was the latest chapter in a story that started over four years ago, when Apple sued Samsung for infringing on iPhone patents. Samsung was successful in having the original unfavorable ruling reduced from a $1 billion fine down to about $548 million.
Samsung is disappointed that the U.S. Court of Appeals denied its request for an en banc hearing, a Samsung spokesperson said. An en banc hearing, or an "in the bench" review, would have brought all of the appeals court judging in on the final decision a spokesperson told CNET.
"For decades, we have invested heavily in developing revolutionary innovations in the mobile industry and beyond," says the spokesperson. "We are confident that our products do not infringe on Apple's design patents, and we will continue to take appropriate measures to protect our products and our intellectual property."
Samsung "willfully stole" Apple's ideas and copied the company's products, says Rachel Wolf, an Apple spokeswoman.
"We are fighting to defend the hard work that goes into beloved products like the iPhone, which our employees devote their lives to designing and delivering for our customers," says Wolf.
This particular spat between Samsung and Apple started back in 2011. Apple accused Samsung of copying its products and pointed to its rival's Galaxy series as proof.
"It's no coincidence that Samsung's latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging," says an Apple representative back in 2011. "This kind of blatant copying is wrong, and we need to protect Apple's intellectual property when companies steal our ideas."
There's only one place left for Samsung to turn now, and it's always a long shot to just grab this court's attention. If Samsung wants its $548 million fine invalidated, it'll have to convince the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its case and then it'll have to try again to prove that it didn't violate patents held by Apple. And so far, it hasn't had much luck in convincing the lower courts.
