Judge again orders Apple, Samsung to streamline claims in iPad patent case

02.05.2012
Apple and Samsung Electronics have until Monday to further boil down the number of claims to be considered in the sweeping intellectual-property lawsuit concerning their smartphone and tablet products, which is now scheduled to go to trial July 30.

Judge Lucy Koh of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ordered the companies to pare down the case, in which Apple and Samsung are suing each other over patent infringement and other claims, so a jury can understand and fairly judge the issues in one trial. It was the second time the judge had asked them to downsize their claims. The order came at a case management conference at the court on Wednesday afternoon.

In a joint statement filed Tuesday in preparation for Wednesday's conference, Apple and Samsung each had offered to drop some patents and claims from the case but said lack of cooperation from the other side prevented greater streamlining. But that left 16 patents, six trademarks, five "trade dress" claims, and an antitrust case, with 37 products accused of violations. The companies each will have 25 hours to present their cases to a jury.

"I think that's cruel and unusual punishment to a jury, so I'm not willing to do it," Judge Koh said. "If you're going to trial in July, this is not going to be acceptable." If the companies don't present a more workable set of claims, the trial date could be pushed back to 2013, she suggested.

Apple said it was the only party with an interest in bringing the case to trial on time, and attorney Harold McElhinny of Morrison & Foerster, representing Apple, did most of the pleading for another chance to pare the case down. He asked for guidance on how much the companies could bring to trial, but Koh would not spell it out.

"We will do whatever we need to do to hold the trial date," McElhinny said.