Apple and Samsung are not only competing against each other to win the hearts of the tech crowds, as they are now on a war of design patents in the Supreme Court that has been going on since 2012.

Apple vs Samsung: Who copies what?

Apple accused Samsung for copying the Cupertino giant's patents. There are three patents at issue - first is a black rectangle with rounded edges, another one is the bezel, and the third is the colorful grid with 16 icons, Forbes reported.

Apple and Samsung battle is not a new case. In 2012, both tech giants had their first trial won by Apple. Samsung was found guilty in copying Apple patents and trademarks, wherein the South Korean company was ordered to pay nearly $1 billion.

The recent case would make a fortune for Apple if the company wins, as the company has asked $2.75 billion, which is the total profit for the phones that have used the design patented by Apple.

In a petition, Samsung defended that Apple would 'extortionate patent litigation, especially in the field of high technology.'

It would be hard to decide how much money Samsung should pay Apple since the design itself is something that consumers can see, and not about the wires or chip inside the phone. Hence, the damage award is considered ridiculous to Samsung, ArsTechnica reported. The company's spokesperson said that by awarding the profits for a single patent, it would affect hundreds of thousands of other patents in a single phone.

Apple vs Samsung: What will happen to the flagship smartphone design?

Apple was a customer of Samsung for products such as displays and microchips, according to Quartz. The battle of the design dominance in the Supreme Court could almost certainly affect the flagship phones designs in the future. More than 100 designers wrote the Supreme Court in Apple's defense, stating that 'stealing' a visual design means much more than that, as it affects the consumers emotional connections to the company's brand.

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Topics Apple vs samsung