Samsung agrees to pay Apple $548M over long-running patent dispute

Samsung agreed to pay Apple $548 million for a patent case where the South Korean tech company was found to have violated key patents that belonged to the iPhone maker.

According to CNET, this is a long-running case where a 2012 decision demanded Samsung to initially pay Apple $1 billion in damages. However, that amount went down to almost a half as the case continued. This legal battle goes beyond money and market. Instead, this case is more about legacy.

These two most popular smartphone makers may be rivals in the courtroom, but they work closely together in manufacturing the devices. Samsung continues to supply Apple processors and screens that it uses for its mobile devices, like iPhones and iPads.

This legal battle has been going on since 2010, reported V3. The settlement even reached $2.5 billion in 2011 for claims that Samsung violated patents on tap-to-zoom, multi touch, and other technologies. Before it reached $548 million, it was first lowered to $930. According to Samsung, it will pay the half billion dollar if it gets a request for payment from the iPhone maker this weekend, and that it will send the payment December 14.

According to Samsung, it is, "disappointed that the court has agreed to proceed with Apple's grossly exaggerated damages claims regardless of whether the patents are valid." The company said, "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."

However, Computer Weekly reported that this case is not yet done. There will still be a trial for the remaining $382 million damages, which will be on 2016. Samsung could still pay more after this retrial with eight jurors.

The patent infringements involves Samsung's Vibrant, Mesmerize, Galaxy S Showcase, Galaxy S4G, and the Fascinate.