The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Samsung may not have to disgorge all profits from smartphone sales even if some designs of the phones were copied from Apple's iPhone.

The Court threw out an appeals court ruling that said the South Korean company had to pay a $399 million penalty to its American rival for copying key iPhone designs.

The Supreme Court held that a patent violator does not always have to fork over its entire profits from the sales of products using stolen designs, if the designs covered only certain components and not the whole thing.

The justices sent the case back to the lower court for further proceedings.

The decision gives Samsung another chance to try to get back part of the US$548 million it paid Apple in December following a 2012 jury verdict that it infringed Apple's iPhone patents and mimicked its distinctive appearance in making the Galaxy and other competing devices.

Design patent fights very rarely reach the Supreme Court. It had not heard such a case in more than 120 years.