Apple v. Motorola: Judge dismisses entire patent case, no injunctions

[techbeck]

In US federal court this evening, Judge Richard Posner just ruled that the case of Apple v. Motorola will be dismissed in its entirety. The case, in which Apple alleged Motorola was in violation of four of its patents and Motorola was left with one claim in return (the patent counts had originally been higher on both sides), had been in litigation since 2010, most recently with a hearing in Chicago this past Wednesday.

"No more can Apple be permitted to force a trial in federal court the sole outcome of which would be an award of $1."

This isn't the first time Posner has dismissed the case ? he had tentatively dismissed it a couple weeks ago, before allowing both sides one more chance to make their case. In his latest ruling, it looks like the reasoning is essentially the same as it was before: neither Apple nor Motorola were able to prove damages in his view, and therefore, an injunction against the sale of any products is unwarranted.

For Motorola, Posner's ruling is huge: it had been hanging on by a thread with just one patent remaining in the fight ? a standards-essential patent for GSM that Apple claimed wasn't actually used in practice ? and a full ruling in Apple's favor could've put the newly-minted Google subsidiary in the precarious position of facing a portfolio-wide product ban until it could design around Apple's claims. In the end, Posner seemed frustrated at Apple's inability to offer hard numbers: "Both parties have deep pockets," he says in his 38-page decision. "And neither has acknowledged that damages for the infringement of its patents could not be estimated with tolerable certainty."

An appeal by Apple ? which declined to comment on this ruling ? seems like a reasonable possibility.

Update: Motorola has now provided us with the following comment on today's ruling:

We are pleased that Judge Posner formally dismissed the case against Motorola Mobility. Apple's litigation campaign began with their attempt to assert 15 patents against us. As it relates to Apple's violation of our patents, we will continue our efforts to defend our own innovation.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/22/3111607/apple-v-motorola-judge-posner-dismisses-entire-patent-case

[Nightwind Hawk]

This judge should be in charge of ALL patent cases. He seems to understand them better than most...

[Boz]

Great article

US appeal court judge Richard Posner has finally said the unsayable: that Apple's and other tech firms' patent battles are a ridiculous abuse of intellectual property law

What happened is that Posner, in an unusual move, got himself assigned to a lower court to hear a case in which Apple was suing Google (which had purchased Motorola in order to get its hands on the phone company's patent portfolio) over alleged infringement of Apple's smartphone patents. Posner listened to the lawyers and then threw out the case. But what was really dramatic was the way he eviscerated the legal submissions. At one point, for example, Apple claimed that Google was infringing one of its patents on the process of unlocking a phone by swiping the screen. "Apple's argument that a tap is a zero-length swipe," said Posner, "is silly. It's like saying that a point is a zero-length line."

Posner's formal judgment was issued on 22 June. He dismissed the case, writing in his opinion that neither side had proved any damages caused by the other party. More significantly, his ruling came "with prejudice", which means neither side can reopen the case to attempt to prove damages for a second time.

This is a landmark judgment, one of those moments when someone ? in this case an eminent judge rather than a small child ? points out that the emperor is indeed stark naked. Patent wrangling between technology companies has become both pathological and pointless. It is also a gross abuse of intellectual property law that uses the courts as tools for gaining competitive advantage. The people who should be deciding whether Apple's phones are better ? more functional, reliable, easier to use ? than Motorola's are consumers, not judges. By striking a blow for common sense in what had become a madhouse, Posner has set a really encouraging precedent. The only downside is that he will now probably write a book about it. And I bet it will be a bloody good read too. Some people are just too annoying for words.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jul/01/apple-google-patent-case-john-naughton-comment

[BoredBozirini]

And who's fault is it? The law maker's.

[ichi]

And who's fault is it? The law maker's.

True, but then again no one is forcing anyone to go out of their way and sue third parties over their IP just because the patent system is fubar.

I understand that in the current legal scenario companies will want to collect as many patents as possible just so those patents don't fall in the hands of some patent troll, but that's a hell of a lot different than then using those patents as offensive weapons.

[BoredBozirini]

True, but then again no one is forcing anyone to go out of their way and sue third parties over their IP just because the patent system is fubar.

I understand that in the current legal scenario companies will want to collect as many patents as possible just so those patents don't fall in the hands of some patent troll, but that's a hell of a lot different than then using those patents as offensive weapons.

So what do you think was the reason for Google buying Motorola?

[ichi]

So what do you think was the reason for Google buying Motorola?

I'd say getting access to IP they could use to fight back both MS and Apple, which is also an abuse of the patent system.

I'm not singling out Apple (even while they have a clear tendency to sue first), just pointing out that a broken system is no excuse to abuse it in an offensive way.