US Supreme Court clarifies lost profit remedy for design patent infringement

On 6 December 2016, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd et al v Apple Inc, unanimously reversing the decision of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit which had affirmed the award to Apple of $399 million in damages for Samsung’s design patent infringement—the entire profit Samsung had made from its sales of infringing smartphones. The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Federal Circuit as inconsistent with Section 289 of the Patent Act and remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with the opinion of the court.