Federal Judge Tosses Apple Patent Suit Against Motorola

Finally some sanity. Apple really screwed the pooch with this suit; no real argument and too many lawyers.

Reuters

11:14 p.m. CDT, June 22, 2012

A U.S. judge on Friday ruled that Apple Inc. cannot pursue an injunction against Google's Motorola Mobility unit, effectively ending a key case for the iPhone maker in the smartphone patent wars.

The ruling came from Judge Richard Posner in Chicago federal court. He dismissed the litigation between Apple and Motorola Mobility with prejudice, meaning it can't be refiled.

The ruling is a blow for Apple, which had hoped a decisive ruling against Motorola would help it gain an upper hand in the smartphone market against Android.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/technology/ct-biz-apple-motorola-suit,0,2544954.story

Apple's patent case against Motorola dismissed 'with prejudice'

By Mikey Campbell

Published: 09:45 PM EST (06:45 PM PST)

A U.S. court judge on Friday dismissed Apple's smartphone patent claims against Motorola after holding a rehearing on Wednesday, possibly putting an end to the nearly two-year conflict.

Judge Richard Posner sitting by designation on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed Apple's patent suit against Motorola "with prejudice," meaning that the assertions can't be reargued in front of that particular court, after giving the iPhone maker a second chance at an injunction earlier this week.

The judge, who has been an outspoken critic of Apple's court tactics, temporarily canceled Apple's trial in early June citing lack of injury but decided to rehear the case two weeks later. During the second hearing Apple once again argued for injunctive relief against Motorola's alleged infringement on four patents regarding heuristics, UI elements and wireless technology. The court was unimpressed with both the assertions as well as Apple's injunction request that asked the Droid maker to switch to its own solution within three months.

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/12/06/22/apples_patent_case_against_motorola_dismissed_with_prejudice.html

Snippets from the Judge’s Order:

Apple also contends that it’s losing market share (which could happen though its sales were growing—as they have been—because a competitor, namely Motorola, was growing faster) to Motorola, and also losing future customers to Motorola because of infringement, and requests an injunction to limit Motorola’s penetration of the market and preserve Apple’s own customer base. But it has not laid a foundation for such relief

The notion that these minor-seeming infringements have cost Apple market share and consumer goodwill is implausible, has virtually no support in the record, and so fails to indicate that the benefits to Apple from an injunction would exceed the costs to Motorola. An injunction that imposes greater costs on the defendant than it confers benefits on the plaintiff reduces net social welfare.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/97982038/Judge-Posner-s-Dismissal-of-Apple-Suit