Judge Koh Voids Almost Half The Fruit's Company $1B Judgement Against Samsung, New Trial on The Way

FOSS Patents reports that judge Lucy Koh has struck nearly half of the $1 billion in damages awarded to Apple in its patent lawsuit against Samsung last August, calling for a new trial to set revised damage amounts for the affected portions of the judgment.

The $450 million amount [struck from the damage award] corresponds to 14 Samsung products, with respect to which a new damages trial must be held because the court cannot make the adjustments it deems necessary for legal reasons: the jury set only one damages figure per product, but half a dozen different intellectual property rights were found infringed, resulting in a lack of clarity as to what portion of a per-product damages figure is attributable to a given intellectual property right.

Judge Koh agreed with Samsung's lawyers that the jury had erred in some of its damage calculations for the 14 affected Samsung products, meaning that a new trial must be held to determine what the damages should be for those devices.

FOSS Patents notes that Apple remains entitled to nearly $600 million in damages from the original judgement, as well as whatever a new jury decides the damages should be for the 14 devices included in the retrial, and interest. Apple is also seeking supplemental damages that have yet to be determined.

The new trial covering the 14 Samsung devices will likely not be heard until appeals of the original ruling have played out, meaning that is likely to be some time before any revised damages are decided. [MacRumors]

You can follow me on Twitter, add me to your circles on Google+ or Subscribe to me on facebook or YouTube. You can also check my website and blog to keep yourself updated with what is happening in the ever changing world of technology

Apple And Samsung Are at it Again, Adding a Bunch Of New Devices To The Mix

A federal judge recently agreed with additional stipulations that were filed jointly by Apple and Samsung in which each party sought to supplement its case in an upcoming trial slated to begin in 2014. The order on the parties’ amended joint stipulations, handed down by Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal, adds a number of new devices to the case and withdraws one as a result of court filings from November of 2012. The filing is part of Apple’s Galaxy Nexus case (which is separate from the Apple vs. Samsung trial).

Apple added the Galaxy Note II, Galaxy S III with Android 4.1, Rugby Pro, Galaxy Tab 8.9 Wi-Fi and Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 to the case while Samsung adds the iPhone 5; as stated in the stipulation. The Galaxy S III mini was originally on the list of devices alleged to have infringed Apple’s utility patents, but assertions against the device were dropped after Samsung reported that it was not actively importing or selling the handset in the U.S.

Since the Galaxy Nexus trial is scheduled to begin on March 31, 2014, there will likely be more devices added and further disputes filed before the fact discovery process is completed in July of this year. [ModMyi]

You can follow me on Twitter, add me to your circles on Google+ or Subscribe to me on FaceBook or YouTube. You can also check my Website and Blog to keep yourself updated with what is happening in the ever changing world of technology

Apple v Amazon Court Case Judge Ordered Settlement Discussion

Apple and Amazon are fighting over made up words, as you may well be aware. Apple takes issue with Amazon’s use of “Appstore,” the name for the online retailer’s marketplace of Android software, which came after Apple had already been using its own App Store branding for a mobile apps market for a couple of years. A judge now says that before the issue actually goes to trial in August, the two will have to try to hammer things out via settlement, according to AllThingsD.

Already, there has been some movement in the case this year. A judge ruled previously that Apple’s claims of false advertising related to the Appstore name were unmerited. Where Apple had believed that by using the name, Amazon was implying that its product was sponsored by or affiliated with Apple. Amazon, on the other hand, claimed the matter at hand is simply standard an allegation of trademark infringement, and the judge in the case agreed, finding that there was “no evidence that a consumer who accesses the Amazon Appstore would expect that it would be identical to the Apple APP STORE,” due mostly to the fact that Apple sells software for iOS while Amazon sells it exclusively for Android-based devices.

In the new court order issued Monday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Laporte says the two will have to attend a settlement discussion on March 21, with executives present who are in a position to be able to negotiate a binding agreement. But although they must try, there’s no guarantee they’ll actually reach a resolution, and in fact, I suspect the more likely outcome is that we will indeed see the trial go forward on August 19 as planned.

This is a fight that has been going on for two years now, and it has involved more than just Apple and Amazon. The interesting thing to watch will be how damages are assigned if any clear victor emerges from these proceedings; two years’ worth of mobile software sales means Apple could be in for a large settlement, should Amazon indeed be found to have been in the wrong. [TechCrunch]

You can follow me on Twitter, add me to your circles on Google+ or Subscribe to me on FaceBook or YouTube. You can also check my Website and Blog to keep yourself updated with what is happening in the ever changing world of technology