A federal judge has overturned the $529.9M damages awarded against Apple for infringing on three SmartFlash patents in its iTunes software, reports Reuters. The judge said that while February’s verdict stood, the jury instructions may have “skewed” the jurors’ understanding of the appropriate level of damages.
SmartFlash, a patent troll which had originally sought $852M in damages for patents relating to methods of storing data and managing payment systems, subsequently went back to court to make the same claims against the iPhone 6/Plus and iPad Air 2 – products released after the award …
U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap has set a new trial date of September 14th to decide revised damages.
SmartFlash owns seven patents and derives 100% of its income from settlements or court awards on those. Apple has spoken out against patent trolls, but also warned of the dangers of also cautioned against legislating too broadly to fight them.
