Apple, on a high having landed the case and lawyered Samsung into a $1 billion settlement, reached an agreement with Samsung on Monday about framing a schedule for enforcing the settlement and handling all post-verdict motions. Apple wants to take some load off the court while post-trial motions are being conducted. The agreement, which includes a schedule and page limits to discuss issues like court and attorney costs, must be signed by Judge Koh. These motions will be filled a fortnight after the Judge signs off on the last post-motion verdict.
Apple didn’t object to Samsung appealing for a stay of the judgment while post-verdict motions were being heard. However, the Cupertino based company wanted Samsung to post a bond during the hearings, and rejected its request to waive a bond because of the size of the settlement. The terms and conditions agreed upon don’t let Apple collect on the judgment until 14 days after the court has resolved the last post-trial motion. However, with the date for the last of the post-trial hearings scheduled on December 6, and given the time taken for Judge Koh to ink out her decisions, Apple could probably collect by early 2013 at best, assuming the verdict still stands.
Samsung however looks to delay matters even more and looks for another stay on the judgment, as it appeals to the Federal Circuit, even before the last post-trial hearing. This could make Apple wait for months if not years. But by then, the net sum owed to Apple could well be in excess of $3 billion. Since Judge Koh concluded that Samsung willfully infringed upon Apple’s patents, she has the option to triple the damages, and this makes it even more important for Samsung to win the appeal.
Given the costs of the courts and attorney fees, Apple and Samsung have other options as well that they might have agreed to since Monday’s agreement. Apple could withhold payment for some of the parts Samsung supplies it until the latter pays up. Apple and Samsung could have also agreed to the logistics of a billion dollar payout, and Apple may allow Samsung to pay the entire settlement from its US Operations, even if some of the damages come from its Korean Division.
In other news, Samsung’s widely talked-about S cloud made a silent appearance on the Galaxy Note II at IFA, which has thrown an aura of mystery about the service. The cloud controls synchronization of photos and other media to Dropbox, and Samsung announced 50GB of free Dropbox storage for Galaxy Note II buyers. The service could also feature on the new Galaxy Camera, which runs on Android and uploads photos to the web.
September 6, 2012 at 4:02 am
the idiotic jurors concluded samsung willful infringes apple software and patents not the judge, it’ll overturn in the court appeal because the jurors did not follow instruction.