Apple escapes patent suit after US judge tosses complaint

Sued over wireless technologies in a number of its products, Apple for now will not be held liable to Golden Bridge, Bloomberg reported on Monday. Golden Bridge, though, is preparing to appeal the decision.

Golden Bridge, an intellectual property licensing firm, sued Apple in 2010, alleging that Apple had infringed on patents it holds regarding power level maintenance in CDMA 3G technologies. Golden Bridge had also filed suit against AT&T and Motorola Mobility, and, in a separate case, Amazon over the same technologies. The motions against AT&T and Motorola had previously been dropped.

Apple moved for the case to be dismissed, asserting that Golden Bridge's claims were either invalid, obvious, or anticipated by patents held by Ericsson. The case had been scheduled to go before a jury, but U.S. District Judge Sue Robinson canceled the trial, finding Golden Bridge's case insufficient.

"The record evidence remains consistent with the finding of non-infringement," Robinson wrote in an order dismissing the case.

Apple has not responded to requests for comment on the ruling. Attorneys for Golden Bridge expressed their disappointment and signaled their intent to continue pursuing the action.

"We respect the judge greatly," Michael Kelly, a Golden Bridge attorney told Bloomberg, "but justice wasn't done and of course we will appeal."