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Judge Tosses Jury's $533M Patent Verdict Against Apple, Orders New Trial

Posted by samzenpus on from the try-again dept.

An anonymous reader writes: US District Judge Rodney Gilstrap has thrown out a $532.9 million damages award against Apple after a jury found that its iTunes software infringed three patents owned by a Texas company. Gilstrap ruled (pdf) that the damages verdict must be thrown out because of faulty jury instructions and has ordered a new trial to be held solely on the issue of damages.

34 of 55 comments (clear)

  1. It's a strange thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's a strange thing, the American court system. The only time the "little guy" wins is when he's a patent troll that everyone wants to lose.

    1. Re:It's a strange thing by halivar · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I have a hard time siding with anyone using software patents offensively. Fuck these guys and their patents. And if Apple asserts software patents in a non-defensive manner, fuck them, too.

    2. Re:It's a strange thing by amiga3D · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Live by the patent, die by the patent. Apple has been know to abuse patents also. The irony is so heavy.

    3. Re:It's a strange thing by DoofusOfDeath · · Score: 2

      I have a hard time siding with anyone using software patents offensively. Fuck these guys and their patents. And if Apple asserts software patents in a non-defensive manner, fuck them, too.

      You may want to go a little more up stream. How about, "Fuck the corrupt U.S. Congresses and Presidents. Fuck the psychopath lawyers and business people who want to infringe upon our freedom so they can make more money. Fuck the SCOTUS for not recognizing software as math. (And frown at Donald Knuth who also thinks software should be patentable, but is otherwise a swell guy.)"

    4. Re:It's a strange thing by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 2

      Or maybe everybody could just put down the guns and stop trying to engineer a utopia by force. Yeah, maybe somebody would make less profit under such a regime, but the current trade-offs aren't worthwhile.

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    5. Re:It's a strange thing by arbiter1 · · Score: 2

      Problem is look at crApple's history they been doing it too against samsung a lot. SO can't really side with crApple when they guilty of doing the same thing, then refusing to pay on patents they know they stole.

    6. Re: It's a strange thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      That is because patent trolls serve the system by protecting from competition. Trolls are useful to this end by forcing smaller companies to sell out to big players when they get successful for their patent protection umbrellas or risk bankruptcy by the court system win or lose. Even when attacking big companies they ultimately serve them this way.

    7. Re:It's a strange thing by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Are there court systems in other countries that work?

    8. Re:It's a strange thing by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 1

      Work for who? Ain't no rest for the wicked, baby.

    9. Re:It's a strange thing by gnasher719 · · Score: 1

      I have a hard time siding with anyone using software patents offensively. Fuck these guys and their patents. And if Apple asserts software patents in a non-defensive manner, fuck them, too.

      You really, really must hate Google then. Wanting 4 billion dollars for some mp3 patents.

    10. Re:It's a strange thing by the+phantom · · Score: 2

      2001 called!? Did you warn them about the airplanes?

      --
      Rhapsody in Numbers
    11. Re:It's a strange thing by Plumpaquatsch · · Score: 1

      The new trend seems to be that Apple puts "Apple" in front of the word, rather than "i". For brand new products (to them), anyway. Do try to keep up.

      Yeah, for things like Apple TV, Apple Macintosh, and Apple I.

      --
      Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
    12. Re:It's a strange thing by Plumpaquatsch · · Score: 1

      Live by the patent, die by the patent. Apple has been know to abuse patents also. The irony is so heavy.

      Yeah, esp. considering your username: By the early 1980’s Tramiel’s Commodore was so ‘law suite happy’ that a joke inside the company was that the legal department had become a profit center. And yes, that was about patents.

      --
      Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
    13. Re:It's a strange thing by KGIII · · Score: 1

      I do. I hate everyone though. You can bet your ass that I hate you with a passion and I do not even know you. I'm pretty certain that you are a sperm-burping gutter slut who does nothing more than breathe my air. So yes, I hate you too. I do not even like your cat.

      Don't take it personally. I hate everyone. I'd find a way to kick everyone in the planet in the nutsack, or the vagina, if it were even remotely possible. I'd gouge their eyes out with a rusty potato peeler, rip off their toenails, and smash their children's heads in with rocks.

      No, not really. You seem like a pretty good person. I do not actually hate anyone. Not even a little bit.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    14. Re:It's a strange thing by MachineShedFred · · Score: 1

      That logic might work with "But Moooommmm! Joey and Robbie are going to to the mall!"

      Not so much with "Oh hey, these guys are out to take what we spent hundreds of millions developing and sell it to our potential customers. Oh well, turn the other cheek, right boys?"

      You're delusional if you think that any company on the planet, regardless of who you like or dislike, isn't going to fight with every weapon in the bunker if they need to.

      --
      Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
  2. Frankly not enough by ewibble · · Score: 1

    Apples Revenue was 182.35 billion in 2014, the fine is 532.9 Million that is 0.3% if you where on on $100,000 per year and threatened with a $300 (tax deductible) fine would even blink? Ok maybe blink but wouldn't be of significant concern, especially if that violation was making you money.

    Ok, I disagree with the whole patent thing, and think they should be scrapped. But if we are to have laws that discourage it then shouldn't provide real disincentive for everyone? Not just the poor soul with millions of dollars worth of songs, that they clearly would have bought if they where not pirated.

    1. Re:Frankly not enough by tompaulco · · Score: 1

      if you where on on $100,000 per year and threatened with a $300 (tax deductible) fine would even blink? Ok maybe blink but wouldn't be of significant concern, especially if that violation was making you money.

      In my neck of the woods, $300 is about the cost of a speeding ticket with mandatory court costs and clerk fees (even if found not guilty). I make in the neighborhood of $100k when I am working and would definitely change my behavior in order to avoid a speeding ticket. I can't afford another $300 fine in my life. $300 is definitely a big deal to me.
      The difference being that if I was an Apple, then speeding would make me an addition $600, and the $300 fine wouldn't be as bad then.

      --
      If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
  3. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  4. So why won't he rule on the Newegg case? by aaron4801 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Newegg Asks Appeals Court For Help After Waiting Nearly Two Years For East Texas Judge To Actually Rule In Patent Case

    1. Re:So why won't he rule on the Newegg case? by Areyoukiddingme · · Score: 4, Informative

      That article deserves its Slashdot summary, independent of the Apple story.

      The Federal Eastern District is wildly corrupt. From the Newegg filing:

      Further evidencing the unreasonableness of the delay in Newegg’s case is the most recent Civil Justice Reform Act (“CJRA”) Report for Judge Gilstrap,
      which indicates that as of September 30, 2014, Judge Gilstrap had only a single civil case pending for more than three years, and that he had no motions pending
      for more than six months.

      That's from Newegg's argumentation that the 20 month delay is ridiculous. What they tacked on in the footnotes is fascinating:

      Curiously, although TQP’s case against Newegg (filed May 6, 2011) had been pending for more than three years, and although Newegg’s JMOL motion (filed February 17, 2014) had been pending more than six months at that time, neither the case nor the motion were listed in Judge Gilstrap’s September 2014 CJRA Report.

      Gilstrap wants to punish Newegg for daring to go to trial at all over the patent lawsuit, and further for daring to be right when they proved they weren't infringing, and finally for making a mockery of the idiot east Texas jury that found infringement and awarded millions for it, completely in contradiction to the law, other case law, and the plain reading of the text of the patent. And he wants to get away with it by hiding it from the CJRA Report. And he's doing it.

      In other words, a law was passed by Congress to evaluate the performance of judges, specifically to catch malpractice like this, and he got a fraudulent report created that hides his misbehavior.

      Newegg has the discretion to call that "curious." The rest of us call it criminal. Impeach the bastard.

    2. Re:So why won't he rule on the Newegg case? by Plumpaquatsch · · Score: 1

      Newegg Asks Appeals Court For Help After Waiting Nearly Two Years For East Texas Judge To Actually Rule In Patent Case

      Well. there was no decision yet either in the cases from the same Patent Troll against Samsung, Google and Amazon (and more) over the same patents. Which somehow never get mention here.

      --
      Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
    3. Re:So why won't he rule on the Newegg case? by cdrudge · · Score: 1

      But as the article points out, there was for Intuit, using evidence that was brought up in the Newegg case. Were the cases against Samsung, Google, and Amazon (and more) before the same judge as Newegg? Or others?

  5. Re:Well well well! by danlip · · Score: 1

    Who? Federal judges are appointed for life.

  6. Judge is out-of-order. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Unless he's spearheading a lawful appeal through the process, he has NO
    say in the Jury's decision and his actions are criminal contempt of court.

  7. Verdict stands by radarskiy · · Score: 4, Informative

    As any that read past the inflammatory headline will know the judge did not throw out the verdict. The ruling of patent infringement still stands.

    As such, the case is being sent back to the lower court solely to rehear the damages portion, i.e.not further argument about whether or not infringement occurred will be considered there.

  8. Good catch! by Ecuador · · Score: 2

    Good catch! I guess the difference is that that one is not against Apple...

    --
    Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. Polar Scope Align for iOS
  9. from the East Texas court of patent trolls .. by nickweller · · Score: 3, Informative

    How east Texas became the epicenter for 'patent troll' lawsuits

    Company with no product wins $533M verdict vs. Apple, says it’s no “patent troll”

    East Texas Federal Judge Sets Rules for Post-'Alice' World

    1. Re:from the East Texas court of patent trolls .. by penguinoid · · Score: 1

      I call them "activists fighting the insane intellectual property laws". These guys are worth a million nerds sitting around complaining that patents are given out too easily and for too long.

      --
      Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
  10. You reap what you sow. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Large corporations such as Apple lobbied for the patent system that we have. They bought their congressman and current and last president for patent reform that supposedly benefited them. So I love seeing results like this.

  11. Re:Plot Twist by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

    Another junk East Texas patent troll suit bites the dust.

  12. Damages Costs Absurd by labnet · · Score: 1

    Why does the USA have such ludicrous damages amounts?
    As a product manufacturer, I know it is damn hard to take any idea into profit in the bank.
    The idea (ie patent) makes up 1% of the actual effort needed. Taking that idea and actually making it work properly, marketing it, setting up distribution and service networks take up most of the effort.
    The USA court system places way too much monetary value on the actual patent.

    --
    46137
    1. Re:Damages Costs Absurd by radarskiy · · Score: 1

      "Why does the USA have such ludicrous damages amounts?"

      Because we have companies pulling in insane revenues. iPhones alone are on the order of $100 billion per year, and the infringement was claimed for multiple products for multiple years.

  13. It's not a fine, and Apple's revenue is immaterial by raymorris · · Score: 2

    What fine are you talking about? This isn't a case about a crime. If you bump my car in a parking lot and it costs $200 to fix, you owe me $200. It doesn't matter how my you make - if you dent my car, you get it fixed, simple as that. That's called "damages". Same here - the plaintiff claims that Apple's conduct caused financial damage to their business, so Apple needs to make it right by paying the amount of the damage. It called "making the plaintiff whole", restoring them to the same condition they would be in had the event not occurred.

  14. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion