Judge denies Apple bid to recover attorneys' fees from Samsung, releases $2.6M bond related to Galax
U.S. district Judge Lucy Koh handed down two orders on Wednesday dealing with the first Apple v. Samsung California court trial, one denying Apple's motion to recover $16 million in attorney fees from Samsung and another releasing a $2.6 million bond posted to block sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1.
According to Judge Koh's ruling, Apple sought to recover from Samsung attorneys' fees related to trade dress claims argued as part of the first Apple v. Samsung jury trial in California.
During the proceedings, which ended in an Apple win, the Cupertino company asserted a total of four trade dress -- product design -- claims against Samsung, three dealing with the iPhone and one covering the iPad/iPad 2. The jury found 6 of 17 Samsung smartphones diluted Apple's iPhone properties, but did not reach the same conclusion for IP associated with the tablets.
In rundown of prior court actions, Judge Koh notes the jury found willfulness in Samsung's dilution of Apple's trade dress for the iPhone, which Apple presented during the trial as:
Under the Lanham Act, Apple needed to prove that the case was "exceptional" to garner attorneys' fees, otherwise the decision would be left to Judge Koh.
Wednesday's news comes after Apple and Samsung agreed to drop all non-U.S. patent disputes in early August, leaving the ongoing appeals from California in play.
Both of Judge Koh's orders are embedded below.
According to Judge Koh's ruling, Apple sought to recover from Samsung attorneys' fees related to trade dress claims argued as part of the first Apple v. Samsung jury trial in California.
During the proceedings, which ended in an Apple win, the Cupertino company asserted a total of four trade dress -- product design -- claims against Samsung, three dealing with the iPhone and one covering the iPad/iPad 2. The jury found 6 of 17 Samsung smartphones diluted Apple's iPhone properties, but did not reach the same conclusion for IP associated with the tablets.
In rundown of prior court actions, Judge Koh notes the jury found willfulness in Samsung's dilution of Apple's trade dress for the iPhone, which Apple presented during the trial as:
- A rectangular product with four evenly rounded corners;
- A flat, clear surface covering the front of the product;
- A display screen under the clear surface;
- Under the clear surface, substantial neutral (black or white) borders above and below the display screen and narrower neutral borders on either side of the screen;
- When the device is on, a matrix of colorful square icons with evenly rounded corners within the display screen; and
- When the device is on, a bottom dock of colorful square icons with evenly rounded corners set off from the other icons in the display, which does not change as other pages of the user interface are viewed.
Under the Lanham Act, Apple needed to prove that the case was "exceptional" to garner attorneys' fees, otherwise the decision would be left to Judge Koh.
As for the $2.6 million bond, the order to release comes after both companies withdrew motions to enforce an injunction against the three-year-old Galaxy Tab 10.1 earlier this week. Apple posted the bond in 2012, though no action was taken due to the lengthy appeals process.In its discretion, based on the Court's evaluation of the totality of the circumstances, the Court concludes that this is not an exceptional case that "stands out from others with respect to the substantive strength of a party's litigating position." [...] Rather, Samsung raised several reasonable defenses to Apple's trade dress dilution claims, establishing that Samsung "might have reasonably thought that its proposed usage was not barred by the statute."
Wednesday's news comes after Apple and Samsung agreed to drop all non-U.S. patent disputes in early August, leaving the ongoing appeals from California in play.
Both of Judge Koh's orders are embedded below.
Comments
Boy oh boy, has that woman got some karma coming her way.
Coincidentally, $2.6 million dollars was deposited into Judge Koh's Swiss bank account this afternoon.
WT fornicate?
It goes on and on and on. The patent system has failed Apple
I see .... So that was Microsoft and now Samsung and of course f****ng google!
I disagree. There has been tons of blatant copying.
But down to the icons, screens, cables, packaging, etc?
she is Korean, what do you guys expect?
Rulings like this are why people try hard to settle out of court. Problem is Samsung wouldn't agree to not copy Apple designs, so no agreement was possible... and Judge Koh just rewarded the copyist.
Oh, good. I get to post these again.
You to know the difference between a Korean and a Korean-American.
she is Korean, what do you guys expect?
Please explain to the class what the eff her ethnicity has to do with anything?
So Apple ultimately won, but that woman judge denies Apple from even recovering attorney fees? It's not about the amount, sixteen million is mere pennies to Apple, it's about the principle, and the evil and criminal Samsung should be ordered to pay up, since they lost. Isn't that how court cases usually goes? The loser pays attorney fees.
What the hell kind of justice is that, and what the hell kind of a judge is she?
This is a total joke, a travesty of justice and I suspect that there is possibly some corruption and conflict of interest behind these outrageous and shameful decisions.
Well, I don't know about you guys but I'm going to out rioting and looting in the streets to show my displeasure...
I could use some skittles and cigarillos right about now. Let's all head down to our local convenience store and steal whatever we want, and then we'll rough up any store clerks that are there. We demand justice!
Don't forget to walk in the middle of the street when fleeing the robbery scene, and remember to beat the hell out of any cops that might come along. The bright side is that if we happen to get shot and die, mobs of racists and other losers who apparently have no jobs or life will stick up for us, and hold protests 24-7!
I could use some skittles and cigarillos right about now. Let's all head down to our local convenience store and steal whatever we want, and then we'll rough up any store clerks that are there. We demand justice!
Don't forget to walk in the middle of the street when fleeing the robbery scene, and remember to beat the hell out of any cops that might come along. The bright side is that if we happen to get shot and die, mobs of racists and other losers who apparently have no jobs or life will stick up for us, and hold protests 24-7!
No. When I demand justice I'll just go kidnap some innocent reporter and behead the foolish sap in front of a camera in the midst of my jihad. I'll leave the looting to the lesser beings.
she is Korean, what do you guys expect?
She's not actually from either North or South Korea. If you were racially White and born in the US, would you view yourself English or European? If you were racially Black would you consider yourself African? Beyond that there's the false assumption that ethnicity aligns someone with a corporation based on the location of that company's headquarters, which is in itself another weird form of nationalism. I was tempted to give your post a snippy response, but I'm a patient enough guy to teach the few knuckleheads a little basic logic.
Although the Samsung look a lot like the iPhone it also looks a lot like the LG Prada that came a year before the iPhone in 2006. Just saying.