Apple, Samsung drop some patent claims as trial approaches

Apple and Samsung have agreed to drop some of the patent infringement claims they have filed against each other, they said. The move will help simplify the litigation between the two companies when it goes in front of a California jury next week.

Apple said it would dismiss all claims it had previously made against Samsung's Acclaim, Nexus S, and Sidekick cellphones, while Samsung is dropping all claims against Apple relating to U.S. Patent 6,928,604. The decision was disclosed in a filing to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Apple will seek billions of dollars in damages from Samsung. "Samsung has reaped billions of dollars in profits and caused Apple to lose hundreds of millions of dollars through its violation of Apple's intellectual property," Apple's trial brief claims. Combining Samsung's revenue from sales of all phones and tablet PCs that allegedly infringe on Apple's patents, $500 million in profits Apple assumes lost because of the Samsung handsets, and $25 million in royalty damages, Apple's lawyers will ask the jury to award "a combined total of $2.525 billion," the filing said. In its own trial brief, filed shortly after Apple submitted its documents to the court, Samsung called the Apple request "a natural extension of its attempt to monopolize the marketplace."