It's been three years since Samsung lost its multimillion-dollar patent battle against Apple, but the South Korean company is still trying to forestall the judgement. After the US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Samsung's plea to reconsider a ruling upholding the case's damages, the Galaxy phone maker has decided to turn to the US Supreme Court for help. On Wednesday, Samsung filed court papers asking the nation's highest court to weigh in on the protracted legal battle.

"issues of enormous importance."

"The questions present issues of enormous importance to patent litigation and the scope of innovation, especially in high-technology industries," wrote Samsung in its appeal. It's a long shot from the company, but the appeal will probably find backers in Silicon Valley, with the San Jose Mercury News reporting that companies including Google and Facebook are likely to urge the Supreme Court to examine the case. The court itself has until the end of its current term next June to decide whether or not it wants to wade in to the legal battle.

Samsung has already had some success in arguing that its products didn't infringe Apple's patents. The original verdict in 2012 awarding Apple just over $1 billion in damages was later reduced to $930 million, and in May, the appeals court ordered that a $382 million portion of this be reconsidered. A second, separate court case between the two companies that started in 2014 ended with Apple being awarded $119 million in damages.