Samsung agrees to pay Apple $548M in damages with conditions

Samsung has agreed to pay the initial $548 million to Apple within 10 days of receiving an invoice, just four months before the case’s fifth anniversary.

But Samsung has also reserved the right to collect reimbursement if there are any further developments in the case, including results of proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that address the patents at issue.

It looks like we’re close to putting the whole patent war behind us because Samsung has finally agreed to pay Apple the $548 million owed.

Interestingly, earlier in the year Samsung filed documents with the USA court stating the company wished to take the case forward to the Supreme Court with an appeal. The appeals were made against the original case heard by a jury back in 2011, which ordered the company to pay $1 billion in compensation for violating a series of patents connected to the iOS software.

Unfortunately this may not be the end of the back-and-forth court battle between Apple and Samsung, for while they agree on this settlement payment, the South Korean company has stated that it “continues to reserve all rights to obtain reimbursement from Apple”, meaning if any judgement is reversed or changed in Samsung’s favor, it wants the money back. Apple is seeking an appeal over that decision too.

The amount was reduced when Samsung appealed it and got split into two parts – $548 million for the technology patents Apple says it copied and $382 million for reportedly copying packaging as well. And now other patents might also be invalidated soon, giving Samsung a much stronger leg to stand on. “Apple disputes Samsung’s asserted rights to reimbursement”, said Apple.

The settlement pertains to an Apple lawsuit that was decided almost five years ago, where Samsung was found guilty of infringing a number of Apple patents, including one covering its famed pinch-to-zoom gesture on the iPhone and iPad. Surprisingly, Apple is yet to file cases against Xiaomi for patent infringement.