Federal judge tentatively dismisses Apple, Motorola lawsuits
A federal judge has decided to tentatively dismiss a case involving lawsuits regarding patent infringements between Apple and Motorola Mobility, which was recently acquired by Google.
The judge said he dismissed the case as both companies failed to support a case for damages and because imposing any injunctions would have been contrary to the public interest.
The case was set to begin Monday. It went back to 2010 when Apple sued Motorola for allegedly infringing on four of its patents, to which Motorola counter-sued Apple, alleging infringements of their own.
“Injunctive relieve would impose costs disproportionate to the harm to the patentee and the benefit of the alleged infringement to the alleged infringer and would be contrary to the public interest,” said Judge Richard Posner, according to The Register. “I cannot find a basis for an award of injunctive relief.”
Posner said he would file a longer opinion within a week and also said that he could still decide to change his mind.
“We are pleased by the Illinois trial court’s tentative ruling today dismissing Apple’s patent claims and look forward to receiving the full decision,” said a Motorola Mobility spokeswoman, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
[For the record, 1:15 p.m. June 26, : An earlier version of this post said Posner is a U.S. District Court judge. Posner is a U.S. Circuit Court judge. He was on assignment as a trial judge in a U.S. District Court for the Apple-Motorola case.]
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