Well that's that. An irritated judge has thrown out the Apple vs Motorola patent case, saying neither company "can establish a right to relief", The Verge reports. Basically, he doesn't think either Motorola or Apple has a valid case.
Judge Richard Posner is the man getting annoyed by both companies. But considering all these accusations they keep flinging at each other, who can blame him?
Posner warned Apple's lawyers about filing too many motions last month, so it's not like he's one to take any nonsense. And what reason did he give for dismissing the case? He says neither company can prove exactly how much money the alleged patent infringements have cost them, which is quite a good point. Both companies are asking for financial compensation, so Posner says blocking products from going on sale would be pointless.
He's issued a temporary order for now, but might change his mind when he makes his formal opinion, which should be sometime next week. So there is a chance, albeit slight, that he'll let the case run.
Motorola issued a statement on the ruling: "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." That's a very positive attitude.
Apple and Motorola have been embroiled in patent disputes on both sides of the Atlantic, with Moto even succeeding in having some Apple devices banned from sale in Germany (though the decision was overturned pretty quickly). Apple won the slide-to-unlock patent dispute though, with Motorola being found guilty of infringing it with its own version, though not on the Xoom.
Posner also refused to bar the late Steve Jobs' quotes about Google from the case (seeing asGoogle now owns Motorola), but it seems they won't make any difference now.
Was the judge right? Or does each company have a legitimate case? Let me know your thoughts in the comments
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