Judge reduces Apple's reward in patent battle with Samsung

In a landmark ruling last August, a jury found in favor of Apple and ordered Samsung to pay over $1 billion in damages for patent infringement. Now, after the verdict found its way into the District Court of Northern California, a judge has reduced the penalty by more than 40 percent.

In her ruling, Judge Lucy Koh decided that $450,514,650 would be removed from Apple's damages as a result of an incorrect evaluation on the part of the jury. According to Judge Koh, the mistake stems from the jury calculating damages based on Samsung's total profits as opposed to only the period after which they were informed of infringement by Apple. The correct amount may eventually equal more or less than the $450 million, but the judge urged both sides to go through an appeal process rather than beginning a new trial.

Although the slashed award is a setback for Apple, the court did not interfere with the jury's verdict on actual infringement, and the rest of the $599 million remain untouched. In addition, a new trial has been set for 14 other devices that Apple claims infringement from and more damages could be forthcoming. 

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