US supreme court rules for Samsung in $399m patent dispute with Apple

Unanimous decision holds that patent violators do not have to surrender profits from sales of products that use stolen designs for components

The US supreme court on Tuesday sided with Samsung in its big-money smartphone patent fight with Apple, throwing out an appeals court ruling that said the South Korean company had to pay a $399m penalty to its American rival for copying key iPhone designs.

The justices in their 8-0 ruling sent the case back to the lower court for further proceedings.