The long running legal battle between Samsung and Apple looks to be headed toward a resolution. A joint court statement released by both companies indicates that the South Korean electronics manufacturer will pay Apple the $548 million ordered by the court of California for infringing on smartphone patents.
Apple's part of the statement reads:
"Samsung has confirmed to Apple that it will pay Apple the $548 million partial judgment directly. Samsung indicates that payment should be complete within 10 days of delivery of Apple's invoice to Samsung, which will take place on December 4. Payment should therefore be complete by Monday, December 14. Once payment is received, Apple will withdraw the motion to enforce with respect to the partial judgment."
Speaking with Newsfactor, a Samsung spokesperson said:
"We are disappointed that the court has agreed to proceed with Apple's grossly exaggerated damages claims regardless of whether the patents are valid. While we've agreed to pay Apple, we remain confident that our products do not infringe on Apple's design patents, and we will continue to take all appropriate measures within the legal system to protect our products and our intellectual property."
The feud between the two mobile giants began in 2011, when Apple sued Samsung for infringing on several patents. In 2012, the Cupertino-based company struck the first blow, when a court ruled that Samsung infringed on several Apple patents such as the tap-to-zoom, and slide-to-unlock features.
Apple initially asked for $2.5 billion in damages, but the court awarded the company just a shade over $1 billion.
Over the years however, Samsung's legal team has worked endlessly to appeal the decision, whittling down the figure to the $548 billion amount they agreed to pay today.
Expect more legal fisticuffs from the two tech giants for the foreseeable future.
