Apple-Samsung US court battle headed for fourth trial

The ongoing patent litigation saga between smartphone giants Apple and Samsung has entered a new chapter, with a fourth trial before a jury to take place next year.

United States district court judge Lucy Koh ordered [pdf] a seven-day jury trial in April or March 2016, with the sole purpose of determining the amount damages Samsung should pay for infringing on six Apple patents in five of the Korean company's products.

Judge Koh placed strict boundaries around what the two parties may do and say in the fourth trial.

No further fact discovery or new sales data, products, methodologies or theories will be allowed, Koh ordered, nor will the court permit the scope of the retrial to be expanded.

Koh also set time limits for opening statements, closing arguments and hearing of evidence, and how long the legal documents presented by each side can be.

Apple and Samsung have been battling each other in court since 2011, over allegations that the latter copied the former's technology and intellectual property.

Samsung has been on the losing end in the legal war, with a 2012 jury awarding Apple over US$1 billion in damages, a figure that has been whittled down considerably over the following years to closer to US$128 million.