A San Jose federal judge on Friday slashed about $450 million from the $1 billion award Apple won last August in its patent feud with electronics giant Samsung, the latest in a series of decisions weakening Apple’s legal assault on its smartphone and tablet rival.

The jury’s damages calculations were improper and excessive for more than a dozen of the Samsung devices it concluded had trampled on Apple’s patent rights, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh found, and she ordered a new trial on damages for those claims.

While the judge’s decision took a chunk out of Apple’s legal victory, the Cupertino tech giant is hardly walking away empty-handed. The judge let stand nearly $600 million in damages for the jury’s findings that Samsung infringed patents in more than a dozen other products, including some of the popular Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets.

Apple declined to comment on the decision. But the new trial on the damages could restore some of the $450 million Apple lost in Friday’s ruling.

Depending on how Koh proceeds on the new damages trial, her decision could put the legal battle in a position to move to the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, the Washington, D.C.-based court that considers patent appeals.

In a statement, Samsung officials said they were pleased with the judge’s decision to reduce the damages, and the company plans to “seek further review” of the remaining $600 million judgment.



The Federal Circuit and Koh have rejected Apple’s bid to block sales of the Samsung phones and tablets at issue in the trial while the case proceeds, a blow in Apple’s bid to shut down its competitor’s use of what it considers stolen technology. Apple has another appeal pending on that issue in the Federal Circuit.

The jury concluded that Samsung’s older line of products, such as the Fascinate, Epic 4G and Galaxy S II smartphones, trampled on Apple’s design and technology patents. These patents ranged from the shape of the iPhone to its “pinch and zoom” features.

The two companies also are moving forward with a separate legal battle over Samsung’s newer line of smartphones, such as the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Tablet 10.1; Apple’s Siri voice and search function patents are one of the issues at the heart of that case. The case is set for trial in spring 2014, although Koh has tried to persuade the two companies to wait until the first case is resolved in the appeals courts.

Meanwhile, even as Apple and Samsung spar over those products, Samsung is expected this month to announce the release of its next line of smartphone, the Galaxy S4.