Patent holder Acacia wins $22.1M judgement against Apple
A federal jury has ruled in favor of Acacia Research, awarding a subsidiary of the patent licensing firm $22.1 million in damages from Apple for the latter's violation of a cellular networking patent.
Apple was found to have willfully infringed, which could allow U.S. Magistrate Judge Nicole Mitchell to multiply damages by as much as three times, Reuters reported. The news agency didn't say whether Apple is planning to appeal the verdict.
The trial first began on Sept. 6 and ran for a week. Apple attempted to prove that the patent was invalid, but jurors rejected this position.
The company faired better recently in a separate patent suit with VirnetX. Although it was earlier hit with over $625 million in damages, a judge ordered two retrials, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled that four VirnetX patents in the case are invalid.
Apple was found to have willfully infringed, which could allow U.S. Magistrate Judge Nicole Mitchell to multiply damages by as much as three times, Reuters reported. The news agency didn't say whether Apple is planning to appeal the verdict.
The trial first began on Sept. 6 and ran for a week. Apple attempted to prove that the patent was invalid, but jurors rejected this position.
The company faired better recently in a separate patent suit with VirnetX. Although it was earlier hit with over $625 million in damages, a judge ordered two retrials, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled that four VirnetX patents in the case are invalid.
Comments
I'm not clear on American case law but wouldn't that then clear the way for Acacia then to make a full claim for damages ?
If so, then that's a change in tactics from the patent troll crowd.
Either way, they shouldn't pay a dime.
You do realise that by finding the of wilfully infringing they are basically saying Apple knew of the patent and still went ahead and infringe?
I've had projects stopped because the patents guys have come back and said it's a too tight to call wether the process infringes or not.
Of course, since it's a relatively small amount for Apple, maybe there'll be a settlement to just get rid of Acacia.
With that out of the way SCOTUS issued an opinion in June of this year that changes the requirements yet again and may simplify the process.
http://www.devinemillimet.com/articles/2016/proving-willful-patent-infringement-easier