Samsung Hands Apple $548M In Patent Dispute

The patent infringement dispute between Apple and Samsung took a significant step toward finally being over late last week.

As VentureBeat reported, Samsung has agreed to pay Apple the $548 million it has been ordered to pay by a San Jose federal court. The court filing stated that Apple could be paid as early as Dec. 14 once its invoice is submitted.

Apple’s apparent victory is just the latest in the ongoing battle over alleged patent infringement, in which Samsung was found to be in violation of Apple’s design patents through its smartphone and tablet offerings back in 2012.

Initially, Samsung was required to pay more than $1 billion to Apple in damages, but that amount was eventually minimized to $548 million as a result of numerous hearings and appeals over the years.

While Samsung has agreed to fork over the money, VentureBeat confirmed the South Korean company is invoking its right to proceed with more appeals and possibly request some, or even all, of the money back.

Earlier this year, Samsung attempted (with no success) to request a new trial in the case from the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.

“We are disappointed that our request for an en banc hearing of the U.S. Court of Appeals was denied,” a Samsung spokesperson told CNET in an emailed statement back in August.

“For decades, we have invested heavily in developing revolutionary innovations in the mobile industry and beyond. We are confident that our products do not infringe on Apple’s design patents, and we will continue to take appropriate measures to protect our products and our intellectual property,” the statement continued.