Apple Scores a Big Jury Verdict Against Samsung, But What About an Injunction?

There are some very good summaries of the Jury verdict, and there is also a lot of speculation about what happens now that the jury found various Samsung patents infringe Apples patents and trade dress. The jury’s verdict form shows how they answered the various IP claims. In summary, all of Apple’s and Samsung’s patents (utility and design) were found valid. However, none of Samsung’s patents were infringed and the vast majority of Apples were. However, the jury form also gives a some indications of what may happen next in this case.

While a lot will be written in the next week on pending appeals and cross appeals, motions for judgement notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV), and other post trial maneuvers, Judge Koh will also have to decide if she will award an injunction preventing future sales and imports of the infringing products. Injunctions are imposed as an equitable remedy by the judge, not the jury. In deciding whether or not to grant an injunction in patent cases, federal judges must apply the eBay factors, named for the 2006 eBay v. MercExchange case in which the Supreme Court clarified the factors that must be weighed. Those factors that a plaintiff must demonstrate include:

(1) that it has suffered an irreparable injury;

(2) that remedies available at law, such as monetary damages, are inadequate to compensate for that injury;

(3) that, considering the balance of hardships between the plaintiff and defendant, a remedy in equity is warranted; and

(4) that the public interest would not be disserved by a permanent injunction.

Since that case, courts have been more reluctant to grant permanent injunctions at the end of a patent trial. One reason cited for the decline in injunctions is that the presumption of irreparable harm is dead. This case is a bit different though.

In addition to the patents infringed, Samsung was found to both infringe and dilute Apples iPhone trade dress (both registered and unregistered). The strength of Apple’s trade dress is in its distinctiveness and Apple’s continued use of it. Trade dress protection is only available so long as the trade dress serves as a source identifier for the product. If another manufacturer can sell goods that infringe or dilute Apple’s trade dress going forward, that would likely do irreparable harm to Apples trade dress rights against other parties.

In this case, there is significant overlap between the design patents and Apple’s trade dress. There is even an arguable overlap between the utility patents and trade dress as the rebounding scroll lists covered by some of the utility patents are part of the look and fee of the various iOS devices. In this unique case, Apple is in a position to argue that failing to provide a permanent injunction would pose an irreparable harm to Apples other intellectual property, namely it’s trade dress.

My personal feeling is that Apple has a better than average chance of obtaining a permanent injunction. Whether the rationale behind it will be based solely on the patents, trade dress, or a combination where the various forms of intellectual property reinforce a showing of irreparable harm will be interesting to see. Keep in mind, that while it isn’t a slam dunk, Judge Koh did show a willingness to impose a preliminary injunction early in the case.

As it stands now, Apple will file its motion and brief on August 29, Samsung will reply on or before September 12 (the rumored launch date of the iPhone 5), and a hearing before Judge Koh will be held on September 20.

UPDATED: Judge Koh, has scheduled the hearing for Decmeber 6.

A Review of the Legal Claims in Apple v. Samsung: Design Patent Infringement

Today should be the last day of evidence in the Apple v. Samsung case. Closing arguments will likely be on Tuesday next week and then the jury will get the case. I posted earlier on the trade dress claims Apple has against Samsung that are in Apple’s complaint. In this post I’ll focus on Apple’s three asserted design patents related to the iPhone.

Design patents protect the appearance of an article rather than the functional features. Here is a table with the design patents and their titles:

Design Patent Table from Apple’s complaint

When looking at a design patent, the solid lines show what is claimed and protected. Broken lines provide context but don’t limit the patent. So, while the D677 patent shows the iPhone 4, only the front screen area is in solid lines, so the side buttons and other features don’t restrict the scope of the patent. Similarly, the D790 patent claims the GUI. Only the icons and rectangular touch screen limit the scope of the patent. Below is a table comparing the Samsung Galaxy to these three patents:

Apple’s design patent comparison to Samsung’s Galaxy from Apple’s complaint

Samsung is attacking the validity of these design patents by trying to show that phones with the claimed design elements were publicly known prior to the filing of the applications that issued as these patents. Samsung can also avoid liability if they convince the jury that the design features are functional rather than aesthetic.

One thing Samsung won’t be able to rely on is an argument that they independently developed their own design. In copyright cases a defendant can avoid a claim of infringement if they came up with the material without any reference to the copyrighted material. That is because copyright law protects against, as the name suggests, copying. Patent law, however, doesn’t allow for a defense of independent development.

From what I’ve read so far, Samsung isn’t spending much time arguing that their designs are not similar to Apple’s, but are attacking the validity of the design patents. The jury will get to decide that issue.

Legislation Limiting Certain Design Patents Hits the House: The PARTS Act

I recently wrote on the power of design patents but now they are under attack, at least in one industry. Reps. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced a bill to be known as the PARTS Act to the House on February 2, 2012 and it had a subcommittee hearing on August 1. Gene Quinn of ipwatchdog.com does a good job of connecting the dots from the witnesses at the subcommittee hearing to vehicle insurance trade groups. The bill would retroactively remove design patent protection for automotive replacement parts. This isn’t about engine components, but rather body panels and interior components that are designed for not just a function but an aesthetic.

With respect to a design patent that claims a component part of a motor vehicle as originally manufactured —

(A) it shall not be an act of infringement of such design patent to make or offer to sell within the United States, or import into the United States, any article of manufacture that is similar or the same in appearance to the component part that is claimed in such design patent if the purpose of such article of manufacture is for the repair of a motor vehicle so as to restore such vehicle to its appearance as originally manufactured; and

(B) after the expiration of a period of 30 months beginning on the first day on which any such component part is first offered to the public for sale as part of a motor vehicle in any country, it shall not be an act of infringement of such design patent to use or sell within the United States any article of manufacture that is similar or the same in appearance to the component part that is claimed in such design patent if the purpose of such article of manufacture is for the repair of a motor vehicle so as to restore such vehicle to its appearance as originally manufactured.

While these patents can protect the appearance of a particular model, automotive companies and their suppliers also pursue design patents on these components to protect their position in the replacement part market. While they could pursue protection on the entire vehicle appearance, typical body repairs involve only one or two body panels. Accordingly, it’s advantageous to obtain a design patent on each new panel design independent of the others.

Under current law, a design patent may be obtained that will have a 14 year term from the date of issue. That effectively covers the life of many cars. The result of the bill would be a wholesale devaluing (really an elimination of value) for design patents already issued in this area. Replacement parts manufacturers would be able to immediately start producing and marketing exact copies of the OEM panels. Two and a half years after the first offer for sale of a vehicle having the patented part, anyone could sell or use the copies.

While this could conceivably reduce repair costs (a boon to car insurance companies) it will also reduce the return on investments in new vehicle design and body styles. There are pros and cons to the concept of trying to increase competition in a particular market, but immediately devaluing design patents is not the way to promote competition in the area.

Like the SHIELD Act, the PARTS Act targets a specific industry and aims to weaken patents in those industries. It seems that efforts to weaken intellectual property protection in the United States are moving away from comprehensive changes and are instead being applied to specific industries.