When Apple sued Samsung for copying and infringing on their patents, many thought the Cupertino company plucked the number out from the sky. How exactly did they come up with the $2.19 billion sum?

Apple hired industry expert John Hauser, who surveyed less than 1,000 consumers about imaginary smartphones and tablets, 507 being smartphones and 459 tablets. It had features that weren't even discussed in the trial. Apple used this insight to come up with the value of the five patents Apple accused Samsung of copying.

Christopher Vellturo then took the data and conducted 4,000 to 5,000 hours of research to justify that number. After he was done with it, he and his company figured the infringed patents could have cost Apple $2.19 billion.

This is important because no judge would approve arbitrary numbers. Everything needs to be quantified. Justified. [Verge]