Apple vs. Samsung: Appeals court overturns one key finding

A federal appeals court on Monday left intact much of Apple's nearly $1 billion patent triumph over Samsung, but overturned one key finding from the first trial in their smartphone wars that could slash nearly $400 million from the jury verdict.

In a long anticipated ruling that could shape the ongoing legal feud between the tech titans, the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a conclusion that Samsung's smartphones and tablets violated Apple's patent rights. But the Washington, D.C.-based court reversed the jury's finding that Samsung devices violated trade dress, or overall appearance, protections in Apple's older line of iPhones, saying features such as the shape and screen appearance of the smartphones were so central to their functionality that such rights could not be asserted.

The judges were reviewing a San Jose, Calif., jury's August 2012 finding that Samsung violated Apple's patent or trademark rights in 23 products, such as the Galaxy S2 smartphone, as well as about $930 million in damages awarded to the iPhone maker. The jury's findings that were overturned accounted for nearly $400 million of that damage award, an amount that must be carved from the overall judgment.

The appeals court decision amounts to a mixed bag for the two companies.

For Apple, a win in the influential appeals court, which reviews patent cases from around the country, vindicated the Silicon Valley power's claim that Samsung's popular tablets and smartphones relied on "shameful" copying of the iPad and iPhone.

In fact, the appeals court rejected Samsung's arguments that Apple did not prove that its conduct violated patent laws.

"The jury could have reasonably relied on the evidence in the record to reach its infringement verdict," the three-judge panel wrote.

Samsung neutralized some of the ruling's impact by persuading the court to reduce the damages significantly and toss the trade dress part of the verdict.