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Apple Hit With $625 Million Judgment in Patent Suit Over Cover Flow, Spotlight, Time Machine

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Bloomberg reports that Apple is challenging a verdict issued in a patent lawsuit last Friday that has seen the company hit with a penalty of as much as $625.5 million for infringing patents with its Cover Flow, Spotlight, and Time Machine technologies. The jury verdict in favor of Mirror Worlds LLC saw Apple hit with a $208.5 million judgment for violation of each of three patents.
Apple asked U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis for an emergency stay of the Oct. 1 verdict, saying there are outstanding issues on two of the three patents. Apple said patent owner Mirror Worlds would also be "triple dipping" if it were able to collect $208.5 million on each of the patents.
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The patents at the heart of the dispute are the work of Yale professor David Gerlenter, who spun off Mirror Worlds Technologies from the university in 1996 and filed the patents in 1999. The current Mirror Worlds LLC entity involved in the lawsuit is a patent holding company based in Tyler, Texas, the location where the federal lawsuit is filed
Davis also is considering Apple's request, filed before the verdict, to rule the company doesn't infringe two of the patents. The judge said that if he granted that request, he'd strike the amount of damages attributed to those two patents.
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The federal judge overseeing the trial has asked lawyers for both sides to submit arguments addressing the issue of the damages awarded in the case.

Article Link: Apple Hit With $625 Million Judgment in Patent Suit Over Cover Flow, Spotlight, Time Machine
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2010/10/04/apple-hit-with-625-million-judgment-in-patent-suit-over-cover-flow-spotlight-time-machine/
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Mike84

macrumors 6502a
Jun 23, 2010
818
135
No, since this appeal may take a few more months and if a settlement comes to fruit it won't happen for a while and Apple more than likely will pay a settlement such as that through time with interest as is typical in the industry.
 
PBG4 Dude

PBG4 Dude

macrumors 601
Jul 6, 2007
4,270
4,479
milamber said:
Do you think this will affect quarterly profits?
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AAPL will have to reserve for the possible loss since a verdict has been handed down. When AAPL is allowed to reserve will be important because 10/1 starts AAPL's 2011 fiscal year.
 
M

Mike84

macrumors 6502a
Jun 23, 2010
818
135
gertruded said:
This software patent stuff must stop. Software patents should not be allowed.
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So, you are saying that we should go against the constitution of the united sates that protects people who invent things, such as software and not allow them to protect it by having a patent for a limited time?
 
P

PeterQVenkman

macrumors 68020
Mar 4, 2005
2,023
0
gertruded said:
This software patent stuff must stop. Software patents should not be allowed.
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It is crazy out there. But if people can't patent their work, what's the motivation to do it if others can just wait for you to innovate, then copy your whole process?
 
M

Mike84

macrumors 6502a
Jun 23, 2010
818
135
PBG4 Dude said:
AAPL will have to reserve for the possible loss since a verdict has been handed down. When AAPL is allowed to reserve will be important because 10/1 starts AAPL's 2011 fiscal year.
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This is not true if the judge grants the stay.
 
T

thetexan

macrumors 6502a
May 11, 2009
720
0
dscuber9000 said:
How do you patent Spotlight? It's searching your computer. What's the brilliant, patent-worthy idea behind that?
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The same way Apple patented "slide to unlock" and is suing because HTC uses it too. It's a ridiculous patent.
 
B

barkomatic

macrumors 601
Aug 8, 2008
4,521
2,826
Manhattan
gertruded said:
This software patent stuff must stop. Software patents should not be allowed.
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Ridiculous. People work just as hard on innovative software as they do on new devices and they deserve compensation for their ideas. I'm sorry that Apple stock *might* take a hit from this but that doesn't give Apple the right to steal.

Besides, its not like Apple hasn't sued the crap out of other companies for slight or even imagined infringements.
 
K

kgallag1

macrumors member
Oct 20, 2009
65
0
Dorval, Quebec
software patents

I still think the best solution for this issue is to take 4 steps:

1. Require that the jury for every patent trial consist of only experts in the field. The costs of this can be born by both parties
2. Require an automatic, mandatory expiration of any patent where a product or service has not been developed and demonstrated to the patent office within 2 years (no exceptions)
3. Ensure that the patents are VERY narrowly construed. The person would be entitled to defend only precisely what their patent says. If any aspect is vague, it becomes automatically stricken.
4. Bar any lawsuit for patent infringement until such time as a product is on the market and being actively pursued by the marketer. If there is no product or service, the judge would be required by law to throw out the case

Of course, patent troll lawyers would hate this, but frankly who cares?
 
shartypants

shartypants

macrumors 6502a
Jul 27, 2010
922
60
Companies like Mirror Worlds LLC should not be allowed to sue for technology they don't actually use or have in any products. It should not be legal. When you patent something you must be using it in a real product that you have for sale (in my opinion).
 
A

abergou

macrumors newbie
Jun 8, 2009
15
3
Full of Win said:
Can you give a reason for this line of thinking? Why should software be any different than music, movies, ect... ?
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Movies and music aren't patented. They are copyrighted. Copyright for software would be the way to go (though copyright laws should also be severely revamped).

Patenting software is no different than patenting math - it should not be possible.
 
W

wunderboy

macrumors member
Sep 12, 2008
53
1
Just curious...if you patent an idea for software and never develop it, how long does the patent stay in effect? 10 years, 20 what is the length? This is where the root of the problem lies. I am sure we can all come up with some concepts for software but, if you don't develop them, shouldn't there be a reasonable cut-off for everyone...even AAPL!
 
samh004

samh004

macrumors 68020
Mar 1, 2004
2,222
141
Australia
Can someone explain how Apple is infringing on these patents, are they so broad that anyone could infringe for doing a basic function, or are they a little more complex?

Assuming it hasn’t already been explained as I was typing this out.
 
69650

69650

Suspended
Mar 23, 2006
3,367
1,876
England
There should be a simple 'use it or lose it' rule on all patents. If you don't turn your patent into a real product within 2 years then you should lose the patent. This would encourage genuine inventors and discourage patent-squatters who just patent stuff hoping someone will eventually infringe it (probably inadvertently) so they get a big payout through the courts.
 
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