Roger Fingas
In reversing a $120 million jury verdict against Samsung for patent infringement, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit stepped beyond the bounds of the Constitution, a lawyer for Apple argued this week.
When overturning the verdict, the Court of Appeals used materials it researched itself instead of what was in the trial court record, Apple said in a petition for rehearing en banc seen by Reuters. This supposedly violated Apple's Seventh Amendment right to have a jury decide the facts of the case.
In a May 2014 court verdict, both Apple and Samsung were found to have infringed on each others' patents, the latter receiving a penalty of $120 million. This was overturned just last month, when the Court of Appeals ruled that Samsung hadn't violated a patent involving data detectors, and also invalidated two Apple patents, including the well-known "slide to unlock" concept.
At the beginning of the case, Apple originally demanded $2 billion in damages for five infringed patents, while Samsung fought for a little over $6 million for two patents.
Although Apple and Samsung are largely winding down their legal battles against each other, a separate case that resulted in $548 million in damages against Samsung is scheduled to go to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Marko Zivkovic
Wesley Hilliard
Malcolm Owen
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Andrew Orr
12 Comments
As he landed his crew with care;
Supporting each man on the top of the tide
By a finger entwined in his hair.
"Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice:
That alone should encourage the crew.... The crew is hereby encouraged.
From a legal point of view, Apple's argument is a strong one. I have ongoing research to do about the lower court's ruling on the validity of the patents, but it is true that appeals cases are supposed to be reviewed only on the merits of what was presented in the trial, and not outside research.
"Hearsay? Speculation? Happenstance? 2rd-party "research"? I'll allow it." - U.S. Court of Appeals
So basically, our government could care less about our rights and knows nothing about due process and law. Looks like Apple should start a country...