Anchor: A design patent suit involving Samsung Electronics and Apple has reached America's highest judges. At issue is whether it is fair for Apple to demand from Samsung all profits from the sales of the product in question for infringing on a few design patents. It remains to be seen how the U.S. Supreme Court will view the design patent legislation made 130 years ago.
Our Kim In-kyung has more.
 
Report: The U.S. Supreme Court heard a high-stakes design patent case involving Samsung Electronics and Apple on Tuesday.  
 
Lower courts in the United States had ruled that Samsung copied Apple's designs and awarded Apple 600 billion won in damages.
 
Samsung took part of the case to the highest court, arguing that it is disproportionate to award 399 million U.S. dollars in damages for infringing on just three design patents.
 
Nam Ki-young, a Samsung PR official, said smartphones comprise more than 200-thousand patents and it is unfair to award all of the profits from a product for infringing on patents that deal with a minuscule portion of the devices.
 
[Sound bite: Nam Ki-young - public relations official, Samsung Electronics (Korean)]
"Damages shouldn't come in the form of the entire profit. They should be recalculated based on the  (contribution that the) three design patent infringements (made)."
 
A U.S. patent law legislated in 1887 requires that all profits from a product be coughed up when a design breach is acknowledged.
 
However, questions have been raised about whether it is time to redefine the 130-year-old law, with the U.S. assistant attorney general saying that damages should be limited to only the infringed portion.
 
The question is how to separate the profits for the particular patents from the entire profits.
 
The ruling is expected in the first half of next year. Industries in the U.S. are also watching the legal clash closely as it is the first time in more than a century that a design patent suit has reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
Kim In-kyung, KBS World Radio News.