iSue: Apple claims $707 m from Samsung

Apple Inc has asked for a court order for a permanent US sales ban on Samsung Electronics products alleged to have violated its patents along with additional damages of $707 million on top of the billion-dollar verdict won by the iPhone maker last month. Samsung has responded by asking for a new trial.

The world's top two smartphone makers are currently locked in patent battles in 10 countries as they vie for top spot in the lucrative, fast-growing market.

Apple scored a legal victory over Samsung in late August when a US jury found that the Korean firm had copied critical features of the iPhone and awarded the US firm $1.05 billion in damages.

In a motion filed late Friday US time, Apple sought a further $400 million damage award for design infringement by Samsung; $135 million for willful infringement of its utility patents; $121 million in supplemental damages based on Samsung's product sales not covered in the jury's deliberation; and $50 million of prejudgment interest on damages through December 31. The requests together come to $707 million.

Apple wants the injunction to cover "any of the infringing products or any other product with a feature or features not more than colorably different from any of the infringing feature."

Such a wide-ranging sales ban could result in the extension of the injunction to cover Samsung's brand-new Galaxy S III smartphone.

Samsung, in a filing to the US court, asked for a new trial to be held. "The Court's constraints on trial time, witnesses and exhibits were unprecedented for a patent case of this complexity and magnitude, and prevented Samsung from presenting a full and fair case in response to Apple's many claims," Samsung said.

"It is unfortunate that patent law can be manipulated to give one company a monopoly over rectangles with rounded corners, or technology that is being improved every day by Samsung and other companies," it said.