Samsung's Motion to Stay Damages in Apple Patent Retrial Denied

[MacRumors]

Last week, Samsung was ordered to pay Apple $290 million in damages after a jury ruled that the Korean company had copied key features and design elements from the iPhone last year. Shortly after the payment amount was decided last week, Samsung filed a motion to delay its payments to Apple, requesting a reevaluation of the validity of patent No. 7,844,915 covering Apple's "pinch-to-zoom" gestures.

Now, FOSS Patents is reporting that Samsung's motion to stay its damages was denied last night by Judge Lucy Koh, basing her decision on three factors including the status of research, the impact of a stay on the trial and case as a whole, and whether granting a stay would unethically favor Apple.

While the retrial jury, which ultimately awarded Apple $290 million in damages replacing a $410 million of the original verdict (resulting now in total damages, subject to appeal, of $929 million), was deliberating, Samsung brought an emergency motion to stay the whole case pending reexamination of Apple's '915 pinch-to-zoom API patent. Its lawyers untruthfully said that Apple's only procedural option left (in order to salvage the patent) was a notice of appeal, but Apple pointed in its response to what the actual USPTO communication said, which was the opposite, and said Samsung's stalling strategy had "crossed the bounds of reason."

While Judge Koh ruled against Samsung's motion to stay its damages; a reevaluation of the pinch-to-zoom patent will still take place. The court also states that Apple has other options to influence the outcome of a reexamination, such as filing an appeal to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board or the Federal Circuit.

Notably, Apple's claim of a pinch-to-zoom patent was denied last July by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which followed a preliminary rejection in December 2012.

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Article Link: Samsung's Motion to Stay Damages in Apple Patent Retrial Denied

 

[Sy7ygy]

Owned!

 

[redAPPLE]

pinch to zoom was popularized by apple right? apple patented pinch to zoom right? and now "all" smart phones use the pinch to zoom function.

apple should licence "pinch to zoom" and it should state that it is an apple-patented technology/function.

 

[jaijaibinx]

Yeah.. you know Samsung... You Damn well know...

 

[Renzatic]

pinch to zoom was popularized by apple right? apple patented pinch to zoom right? and now "all" smart phones use the pinch to zoom function.

apple should licence "pinch to zoom" and it should state that it is an apple-patented technology/function.

They were among the first to release a product that used it, and they might've patented it, but there's so much prior art surrounding it, they can hardly claim it.

edit: that said, I don't believe Apple owns the pinch-to-zoom gesture. Just a specific implementation of it in software.

 

[Icaras]

Now stop whining and pay up!

 

[Klae17]

Koh is getting real tired of you're s***, Samsung.

 

[ownamac]

Bwah-wah!

 

[BSDanalyst]

Not enough in damages, Samsung really needs to pay more. But I know Apple will be relentless with upcoming lawsuits.

 

[prowlmedia]

They were among the first to release a product that used it, and they might've patented it, but there's so much prior art surrounding it, they can hardly claim it.

edit: that said, I don't believe Apple owns the pinch-to-zoom gesture. Just a specific implementation of it in software.

Yes it's not pinch to zoom, but the way it's integrated into apps. This is mainly the problem with US patents... for the most part you can just say you have idea and not a physical example or working prototype.

I looked into getting a patent in about 2005 for a lit keyboard, perhaps for gaming that lit the keys dependant on what you were doing. For example a number key would be green when you have a weapon / ammo then flashing when you were running out etc. Could also be used to teach typing etc.

but someone had patented the 'idea' in about 1988 with no demos etc.

The problem is that patent cost a fortune and it's these big companies that can happily lay down the $50K to get one, when individuals are screwed.

Then the optimus came out so seems obsolete anyway... albeit at $2000+ !!!!

 

[dasx]

Hey, Samsung, get your wallet and

 

[Lesser Evets]

Samstung.

 

[dumastudetto]

Samsung are finished. They can't recover from this. Good riddance.

 

[kdarling]

Now, FOSS Patents (says) ....

... Samsung brought an emergency motion to stay the whole case pending reexamination of Apple's '915 pinch-to-zoom API patent. Its lawyers untruthfully said that Apple's only procedural option left (in order to salvage the patent) was a notice of appeal, but Apple pointed in its response to what the actual USPTO communication said, which was the opposite, and said Samsung's stalling strategy had "crossed the bounds of reason."

That was pretty bad, even for Foss Patents. Mueller conflated various statements and used inflammatory language to describe what was actually said in the ruling, which was:

Samsung claims that “this decision by the PTO jeopardizes the jury’s findings in the damages trial and may render all of the post-trial proceedings a waste of time and resources.”

Koh's response was that, even so, "Apple still has time to file a second response to the Final Office Action", which might bring back some of the claims.

Most importantly, Koh's main thrust in her ruling was that the patent validity (and its effect on the award) would probably be more quickly determined during the expected court appeal, than by waiting for the USPTO.

...the Court finds it would be most efficient for this Court to move forward with post-trial motions concerning the damages retrial and finally enter a final judgment in this case so that the Federal Circuit may review the entire case on appeal including the validity of all of Apple’s patents as soon as possible.

The validity of the ’915 patent will reach a faster resolution if this case is not stayed, given that the Federal Circuit’s review of this entire case on appeal will include a determination of the validity of the ’915 patent. On the other hand, a stay would delay Federal Circuit review of the ’915 patent’s validity until after final action by the PTO and review by the PTAB.

If Samsung is truly concerned about efficiency, the Court encourages Samsung to discuss with Apple an agreement to forgo post-trial motions so that the parties can expeditiously appeal this entire case to the Federal Circuit.

Second,

the Court notes that in the event that the Federal Circuit finds other errors with either the 2012 trial or the limited damages retrial, this case will have to be retried again anyway. The Court finds that the most efficient use of judicial resources would be to conduct a holistic retrial with respect to all patents in the case.

tl;dr - Koh said that there was going to be an appeal anyway, so why not let the Appeals Court figure out the patent validity.

 

[samcraig]

You know - they filed the stay because that's what you do in cases like this. You just don't roll over if there is anything you can do to turn the tide in your favor. Whether they are in the right or wrong - it's SOP.

 

[japanime]

Samsung are finished. They can't recover from this. Good riddance.

You're being sarcastic, right? There's absolutely no way that Samsung are going to collapse and disappear because of this.

And why would it be a good thing if the company did collapse?

 

[Serban]

I hope Samsung will not sue Apple for China "idea"
Probably the judge from that country will be by Samsung side.

 

[LostSoul80]

Finally, the article every MR user wanted. How could we not love these original and always interesting stories, I wonder.

 

[ssspinball]

That would be a fitting motto:

Samsung - Crossing the bounds of reason

 

[dennno]

A desperate move. Why can't Samsung just admit defeat with this? The lawyers just want to keep the court battle rolling because of all the money they'll get.

 

[Klae17]

I hope Samsung will not sue Apple for China "idea"
Probably the judge from that country will be by Samsung side.

Why? South Korea wasn't recognized officially by the Chinese from the 50s-80s. They only cared about North Korea. South Korea only recognized Taiwan during that period. China sent in troops to fight South Korea in the Korean War.

South Korea and China do not have a free trade agreement. Their relationship is improving, however, it is ignorant and foolish to state South Korea would get favorable rulings in another Asian country.

 

[Serban]

because if they do, then apple will must pay samsung and so on...an endless story

 

[apolloa]

You're being sarcastic, right? There's absolutely no way that Samsung are going to collapse and disappear because of this.

And why would it be a good thing if the company did collapse?

Because the poster is an Apple fan and as far as they are concerned they ONLY want Apple as an option, I mean, even if they were the only option to buy they could hardly put prices up any higher.

As for the story, good for Samsung, although they have been offered a bit of a lifeline with the patent being in disrepute, so we will have to see what happens.
I'm sure Samsung will counter sue on something and then I will be stating good for Apple in what ever they do.. it's the best thing in these rather pathetic business practices. Capitalist first world problems and all that

Isn't American law so funny when you have this:

Notably, Apple's claim of a pinch-to-zoom patent was denied last July by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which followed a preliminary rejection in December 2012.

Yet Apple can still sue people over the patent...

 

[Oletros]

You're being sarcastic, right? There's absolutely no way that Samsung are going to collapse and disappear because of this.

And why would it be a good thing if the company did collapse?

Just look at his other comments in the forums

 

[wovel]

They were among the first to release a product that used it, and they might've patented it, but there's so much prior art surrounding it, they can hardly claim it.

edit: that said, I don't believe Apple owns the pinch-to-zoom gesture. Just a specific implementation of it in software.

I would love to see what prior art predates the patent.

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Just look at his other comments in the forums

True, if Samsung collapsed they couldn't pay forum posters any more. That is a win for the Internet.