The U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals today rejected Samsung's latest appeal in its patent infringement case with Apple without comment, according to the San Jose Mercury News. The appeal was Samsung's effort to get the court to reconsider a central part of the ruling, which would account for $400 million of the $548 million in damages owed to Apple.
Samsung had urged the Federal Circuit to rehear the case with its full 12-judge roster, arguing that a three-judge panel erred earlier this year when it left intact a jury's verdict that the South Korean tech giant's smartphones and tablets infringed on Apple's design patents.
Samsung's only legal option to overturn the latest verdict is to turn to the U.S. Supreme Court. The decision comes weeks after Facebook, Google and other Silicon Valley companies sided with Samsung in the case, arguing that forcing Samsung to turn over profits from devices that infringed Apple patents would stifle innovation.
This decision is the latest turn in the ongoing patent war between Samsung and Apple. In 2012, a jury ruled that Samsung willfully infringed Apple patents and awarded the Cupertino company $1 billion in damages. The award was slightly reduced after it was determined the jury erred in its judgment. Earlier this year, a U.S. appeals court reversed a significant part of the decision, cutting the award down to $548 million. In mid-June, Samsung asked the court to reconsider its latest appeal, targeting $400 million of the $548 million it owed to Apple.
