A fight over patents between Samsung and Apple was on its way to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, Oct. 11. The issue is not about the software of iPhone but its design.
Reason behind Supreme Court Showdown
Allegations were made that the earlier versions of iPhone were copied to some Samsung Galaxy devices, prompting the Cupertino tech giant to push a case to the Supreme Court.
It is almost settled that Apple's intellectual property was infringed by Samsung. The role of the Supreme Court will be to explain a law on how much Samsung should pay.
Design Patent
Design patents cover the decorative parts of an invention that make it recognizably different.
The most important thing for design patents is to ensure that a product's creative elements, which are unqualified for copyright can still be protected. Design patents cover things from chairs to computers, and in this case, how Apple's iPhone looks.
A jury found that Samsung infringed three of Apple's design patents. One includes the early iPhone's rectangular shape and its rounded corners and a second includes the frame that holds the screen to the rest of the phone. The third covers the layout of 16 colorful icons on the screen.
The fight is about how much Samsung should have to compensate Apple under a law that says it must pay the "total profit." Samsung says this is unreasonable and it should only pay for the value represented by the copied features.
The Hearing
Apple and Samsung will be facing each other on Tuesday at the Supreme Court. The hearing is expected to last for 90 minutes including the arguments each company will make and some words from the U.S. Justice Department.
The Supreme Court ruling will probably come out in 2017.
