• In bid for patent sanity, judge throws out entire Apple/Motorola case
    3 replies, posted
[quote]One of the most outspoken judges in the craziness that is the US patent system made a bold move tonight, throwing out a lawsuit in which Apple and Motorola were seeking injunctions against each other's mobile products. US District Court Judge Richard Posner previously [URL="http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/06/judge-cancels-chicago-jury-trial-in-apple-v-motorola/"]canceled[/URL] a jury trial in Chicago in the case, and then [URL="http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/06/apple-motorola-should-just-play-nice-and-pay-royalties-suggests-judge/"]castigated[/URL] both Apple and Motorola while calling the entire US patent system chaos. Posner issued a ruling late today ([URL="http://www.scribd.com/doc/97979866/6-22-Posner-Opinion"]Scribd link[/URL]) that shows he wasn't just joking. Noting that dismissals without prejudice allow suits to be refiled, Posner made it clear that this one would be dismissed [I]with prejudice[/I]. "It would be ridiculous to dismiss a suit for failure to prove damages and allow the plaintiff [Apple] to refile the suit so that he could have a second chance to prove damages. This case is therefore dismissed with prejudice," Posner wrote. Posner had previously ruled that proposed testimony from experts put forth by both sides would be inadmissible, making it difficult to support any claims for damages or injunctions. The case would have involved two trials, one covering Apple's claim that Motorola infringed four of its patents and another covering Motorola's claim that Apple infringed one of its patents. A series of pretrial rulings eliminated nearly all of Motorola's patent claims while preserving some of Apple's,[URL="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/20/apple-google-lawsuit-idUSL1E8HK25C20120620"]Reuters[/URL] noted earlier this week. Posner complained that Apple's attempt to get an injunction restricting the sale of Motorola phones would have "catastrophic effects" on the mobile device market and consumers. He further criticized Motorola for trying to use a [URL="http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/06/motorola-claims-its-the-victim-in-patent-cases-vs-microsoft-apple/"]standards-essential patent[/URL] to get an injunction against Apple. The Apple/Motorola saga isn't quite over. The sides are [URL="http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/04/itc-rules-apple-violates-one-motorola-3g-patent/"]fighting over patents[/URL] in front of the US International Trade Commission and in German courts, too. [B]It goes back to October 2010 when Motorola first [URL="http://mediacenter.motorola.com/Press-Releases/Motorola-Mobility-Sues-Apple-for-Patent-Infringement-344d.aspx"]sued Apple[/URL] in front of the ITC, a move followed by Apple launching the suit dismissed today by Posner.[/B] Motorola is also being [URL="http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/04/motorola-now-in-eu-antirust-crosshairs-over-standards-essential-patents/"]investigated[/URL] by the European Union for using standards-essential patents to seek injunctions against products such as the iPhone, iPad, Windows, and the Xbox 360. Both Apple and Microsoft accuse Motorola of seeking license fees that are too high for patents pledged to industry standards groups, while neither Apple or Microsoft sued Motorola using standards-essential patents.[/quote] Source: [URL]http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/06/in-bid-for-patent-sanity-judge-throws-out-entire-applemotorola-case/[/URL] Good move by the judge. What a shitfest this whole thing has become.
Finally someone has some sense!
About fucking time somebody did something rational in this giant clusterfuck of a case. Thank you Mr. Posner.
STOP THE FUCKING PRESSES! A US judge did something right? There's hope for this shitfest of a country yet. Seriously though, good move. I hope more follow his example.
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