The Supreme Court in United States on Tuesday overturned a $399-million (Rs 2,654 crore) patent infringement penalty slapped on Samsung for allegedly copying Apple’s iPhone design. The justices sent the case back to an appellate court in Washington after ruling that Samsung was not required to forfeit the entire profit earned from its smartphone sales, reported AFP.

The 11-page ruling said that the penalty was inappropriate because it represented “Samsung’s entire profit from the sale of its infringing smartphones” for imitating the iPhone’s “rectangular front face with rounded edges and a grid of colourful icons on a black screen.” The case is a part of a $548-million (Rs 3,645 crore) penalty that was imposed on Samsung. The appellate court in Washington will now determine the penalty. However, the top court refused to provide detailed guidance on how to resolve the issue.

While Samsung was supported by tech giants like Google, Facebook, Dell and Hewlett-Packard, Apple was being backed by big names in fashion and manufacturing sectors. “Our case has always been about Samsung’s blatant copying of our ideas, and that was never in dispute... We remain optimistic that the lower courts will again send a powerful signal that stealing isn’t right,” an Apple spokesperson told AFP. Samsung has not yet commented on the ruling.

It was a much-awaited judgment, given that the court had not taken up a design patent case in more than a century. “Although the case offers hope for Samsung and others adjudged of infringing design patents, it offers no clarity as to the rule of law,” said Dennis Crouch, a University of Missouri law professor and co-director of the Center for Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship.

Many others welcomed the ruling. Florian Mueller, another intellectual property analyst, said the tech sector will “breathe a sigh of relief now”. Similarly, President of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, Ed Black, said, “It is encouraging to see the law interpreted and applied in a way that makes sense in a modern era and protects both inventors and innovation.”