$2.5 billion is a lot of money, and it's the low end of what Apple
says Samsung should pay for selling products that look and feel like the
iPhone and
iPad.
But just how did Apple reach that tally?
To explain, Apple today called on Terry Musika, a certified public accountant who has been involved with more than 200 intellectual property cases, including this one between the two tech giants.
In short it's complicated.
"The calculation had to be done on a phone by phone, tablet by tablet basis," Musika said. "Each phone, each tablet, deserves or gets its own damage. That calculation had to be done on each of those products."
To add to the complexity, Apple has targeted a string of Samsung devices released at different points in time. While some of these are accused of the same things, others were only infringing on certain patents. Also, some patents were still pending, and some allegedly infringing features were added later.
All the data comes from Samsung's own sales numbers for smartphones and tablets, which was unearthed earlier this month. Musika also cross-referenced that with marketshare from both companies as tallied by research firm IDC.
When it actually came time to crunch the numbers, Musika says he formed a team of 20 people comprising of programmers, statisticians and CPAs to create a computer program. That group spent about 7,000 hours working on the tally, which cost $1.75 million.
"I can assure you, it's not me sitting at a desk with a calculator, doing calculations," Musika joked.
The end result is the $2.5 billion number, which reaches all the way up to $2.75 billion on its high-end. During his testimony Musika went through how this calculation included reductions from ineligible sales, and costs.
The damages tally is especially important given that U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh, who is presiding over the case, has the power to triple it if she rules that Samsung willfully infringed on Apple's patents. That could happen as early as next week, when both sides are scheduled to make their closing argument and the jury heads into deliberation.
But just how did Apple reach that tally?
To explain, Apple today called on Terry Musika, a certified public accountant who has been involved with more than 200 intellectual property cases, including this one between the two tech giants.
In short it's complicated.
"The calculation had to be done on a phone by phone, tablet by tablet basis," Musika said. "Each phone, each tablet, deserves or gets its own damage. That calculation had to be done on each of those products."
To add to the complexity, Apple has targeted a string of Samsung devices released at different points in time. While some of these are accused of the same things, others were only infringing on certain patents. Also, some patents were still pending, and some allegedly infringing features were added later.
All the data comes from Samsung's own sales numbers for smartphones and tablets, which was unearthed earlier this month. Musika also cross-referenced that with marketshare from both companies as tallied by research firm IDC.
When it actually came time to crunch the numbers, Musika says he formed a team of 20 people comprising of programmers, statisticians and CPAs to create a computer program. That group spent about 7,000 hours working on the tally, which cost $1.75 million.
"I can assure you, it's not me sitting at a desk with a calculator, doing calculations," Musika joked.
The end result is the $2.5 billion number, which reaches all the way up to $2.75 billion on its high-end. During his testimony Musika went through how this calculation included reductions from ineligible sales, and costs.
The damages tally is especially important given that U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh, who is presiding over the case, has the power to triple it if she rules that Samsung willfully infringed on Apple's patents. That could happen as early as next week, when both sides are scheduled to make their closing argument and the jury heads into deliberation.
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