In a formidable legal fight between Apple and Samsung the US Supreme Court is grappling for a solution as the eight justices weigh the value of individual design elements of the iPhone.

The judges heard arguments in Samsung’s bid to pare back US$399 million of $548 million it paid Apple in December following a 2012 jury verdict finding that it had infringed Apple’s iPhone patents and copied its disttive appearance.

Chief Justice John Roberts said that se the patented designs involve the outer case of a smartphone and not “all the chips and wires” inside the profits awarded should not be based on the entire price of the phone.