JURIST - Paper Chase: Federal judge cancels Apple-Motorola patent trial

[JURIST] A judge for the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit [official website] on Friday dismissed a patent infringement lawsuit brought by Apple against smartphone rival Motorola [corporate websites]. Judge Richard Posner, sitting in as a trial judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois [official website], dismissed the case with prejudice, saying that neither party could establish a right to relief. Throughout the legal proceedings, Posner expressed frustration [Daily Tech report] with both Apple and Motorola, implying that the companies were wasting the court's time with unclear arguments. Posner was also angered that neither party could justify the large sums they claimed that their patents were worth. He declared he would issue a longer opinion later in the week and that he could change his mind.

Apple and Motorola have been locked in many legal battles in recent years. In February, Apple sued Motorola [JURIST report] in federal court in California seeking an injunction to stop Motorola from bringing patent claims against Apple in Germany. In October 2010, Apple sued Motorola in federal court in Wisconsin, claiming [JURIST report] that several of Motorola's products infringed on six patents owned by Apple.