Samsung asks high court to throw out $388M judgment

WASHINGTON (AP) — In its patent dispute with Apple, Samsung is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take a digital-age look at an issue it last confronted in the horse-and-buggy era.

Samsung is appealing a $399 million judgment for illegally copying patented aspects of the look of Apple’s iPhone, the latest round in a long-running fight between the two tech-industry giants.

The last time the Supreme Court heard cases on patents covering the appearance of a product instead of the way it works was in the late 1800s, when the court battles concerned designs of spoon handles, carpets and saddles.

The smartphone is fast becoming as common a possession as those items were in the Victorian age.

The company’s appeal raises two issues at the Supreme Court, arguing that the lower-court ruling upholding the judgment “overprotects and overcompensates” Apple’s patents.

One question is how juries should value the common features for which Apple holds patents: the flat screen, the rectangular shape with rounded corners, a rim and a screen of icons.

The other issue is whether a court can order Samsung to pay Apple every penny it made from the phones at issue when the disputed features are a tiny part of the product.