Judge voids $533M penalty verdict against Apple for iTunes patent infringement, orders new trial


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U.S. District court judge Rodney Gilstrap on Tuesday rolled back the earlier decision of court where Apple was asked to pay $532.9 million damages to Smartflash LLC for iTunes software infringement.

Earlier this year in February, Apple was found guilty over three patents infringement by iTunes, and the judge had ordered Cupertino giant to pay $532.9 million to Smartflash. But later Apple re-filed the petition arguing that estimated market value of the product is incorrect and damages are too high.

Now, judge Gilstrap said that the instructions made by jury were legally correct but it is possible that improper facts “may have created a skewed damages horizon for the jury.” He has also ordered for a new trial on September 14, only concerning the issue of damages.

The Texas-based Smartflash in May 2013 had accused Apple of infringing patents by its iTunes service for accessing and storing songs, videos and games. According to the filed lawsuit, in year 2000 Smartflash’s patent co-inventor Patrick Racz had discussed some of his ideas with officials of a European company, which included Augustin Farrugia, who later became a senior director at Apple.

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Author: Hitesh Arora

From making Gadget and Auto videos for TV and online media, this guy landed up in Tech Writing. He has his heart at the right place when it comes to finding deals online. You will always find him suggesting people which device to buy. Hitesh calls himself a TV buff, who loves cooking, eating, dancing, and sleeping. You can follow him on Twitter @hitesharoraa