Apple Gets Mixed Ruling in First Samsung Appeal

A partial court win Monday for Apple Inc. gives the U.S. tech company more leverage for an ultimate agreement it may seek with Samsung Electronics Inc. to end a fight over mobile phones that began under Steve Jobs, who said the South Korean company copied his designs.

Samsung used patented designs and two features of the Apple iPhone in older models of its devices, a U.S. appeals court ruled in upholding about $548 million in damages for the Cupertino, California-based company. The court said the iPhone’s appearance that Apple sought to protect is as much about function as beauty, and isn’t eligible for perpetual coverage under U.S. trademark law. That could strip about $382 million from the original judgment.