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Samsung finally seemed ready to give in to Apple’s hounds and settled to pay them a significant sum of $548 million in cash for patent infringements, but that’s not enough. Apple has reportedly requested another $180 million — you know, because it’s so hard to get by on just $548 million these days.
The extra charges pertain to 5 patents which Samsung were found to be guilty of violating back in 2012, and Apple feels they should have been included in the same judgment that netted them over half a billion dollars. To add to that, Apple still isn’t OK with the fact that Samsung wants all of that money back in the event that new findings in the case spawn further investigation.
Samsung and Apple are clearly trying to keep things moving along, but the war is far from over. Whether it’s because they don’t want to have to fork over more cash or they’re trying their hardest not to set bad precedents, Samsung’s not willing to let Apple win egregious sums of money simply because they have a patent that says they’re the only ones who can make rectangular smartphones. To do that would be to say that no one can create a modern day smartphone other than Apple, and that’s about as low as low can get in a system that desperately needs reform.
It’s no surprise that Samsung has won the companionship of Google, Facebook and top PC makers Dell and HP in this fight against Apple. If the Cupertino company is allowed to collect close to $1 billion in damages (the original ruling had more than $350 million in charges tacked on before appeals brought the number down) just because they were the first company crazy enough to patent a shape then the entirety of the tech industry is in for a very gloomy future.
[via Reuters]
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