Samsung must pay Apple $539 million in iPhone patent case

Samsung Electronics Co. must pay Apple Inc. $539 million for infringing patents related to the iPhone’s design, a federal jury found Thursday, a new victory for Apple in a seven-year-old legal battle over the spoils of the smartphone market’s boom.

The jury’s decision in the U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., increases the amount that Samsung 005930, +2.53% previously was ordered to pay Apple AAPL, +0.05% for the patents under dispute from $399 million to $539 million. The bulk of the new damages award, $533.3 million, was for infringing three Apple design patents on the iPhone. An additional $5.3 million was for infringing two utility patents.

The legal fight has progressed through multiple rounds since Apple sued Samsung in 2011, claiming it stole key elements of the iPhone’s design — and it likely isn’t over. Meanwhile, the explosion in smartphone use has benefited both companies enormously, with Apple’s huge iPhone profits helping make it the world’s most valuable company. The jury’s new award is equivalent to only about 3.5 days of Apple’s net profit in the first three months of this year.

The jury’s new award was in the middle of the possible range. Samsung, which was found six years ago to have infringed Apple’s patents, had argued in the current case that it should have to pay a penalty of only $28 million. Apple sought $1.05 billion.