So now I (and many others) have put a value on what can be expected per device. And I understand many of you don’t agree or understand my position. That’s fine, we can all have our own analysis and reason for landing on a particular number.
Though remember that all this is hypothetical, we don’t even know if there will be an infringement decided by the court. There is a long way to walk until the court ends up with a number, if any.
[and these numbers are “court-derived, settlement numbers can be very different…]

Now to the question about how many devices do we talk about? How many iPhones and Samsung devices are at risk here?

Approx yearly sales
Samsung smartphone sales in US = ca 40 million
Apple iPhone sales in US = 70 million units
Apple world-wide iPhone sales = 200+ million units.

For Samsung, only US volumes will be relevant, as neither the phones nor the software are made/designed in the US.

For Apple there is a possibility to include world-wide sales, since the 879 patent claims software. And Apples iOS software (responsible for the alleged infringement) is made in and distributed out of US. Hence all Apple iOS devices could be relevant. (Including iPads, which is 60 million units world-wide)

And there is case law that support this position;

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held on July 13, 2005 that the export of software from the United States to foreign computer manufacturers which copy and install the software and then sell computers loaded with the software abroad constitutes an infringing supply of a patented component in violation of Section 271(f) of the United States Patent Act. The case is AT&T Corp. v. Microsoft Corp., 2005 WL 1631112 (Fed. Cir. July 13, 2005).

Going back to the shipments numbers, they are yearly (2022) numbers. So for how many years can you claim damages?

The case was filed 2020, so at least you can count sales from that date. But how about earlier sales? How far can you go back?

In an infringement suit, a patent holder can ordinarily seek damages for infringement that occurred as much as six years back. However, in order to recover such presuit damages, the patent holder must prove either (1) it provided the public with constructive notice of its patent rights by marking its patented products with the patent number, or (2) “the infringer was notified of the infringement and continued to infringe thereafter.

This is stipulated in US patent law;
35 U.S. Code § 286 – Time limitation on damages stipulates;

“Except as otherwise provided by law, no recovery shall be had for any infringement committed more than six years prior to the filing of the complaint or counterclaim for infringement in the action. “

Start counting guys…!
Will soon come back looking at possibility of getting treble damages, settlement possibilities and a look at the 993 patent (per request).