Samsung wins small victory in phone design war with Apple

The Supreme Court has ruled smartphone maker Samsung owes Apple a smaller fee than originally levied for copying the design of the iPhone. Apple accuses Samsung of ripping off a few of the iPhone’s distinctive features such as its shape, screen, and icon layout. An appeals court agreed and ordered Samsung to pay Apple $399 million. But Samsung said it shouldn’t have to hand over all of the profits from its phone sales, just those related to the specific components that were copied. The Supreme Court agreed, but didn’t give any guidance on how to decide how much money Samsung actually owes. A lower court will have to resolve that matter.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.