Apple defeats new trial bid after overturning $506 mln patent verdict

Logo of an Apple store is seen as Apple Inc. reports fourth quarter earnings in Washington, U.S. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

(Reuters) – The University of Wisconsin’s patent-licensing arm lost a bid Tuesday for a new trial against Apple Inc after the U.S. Supreme Court wiped out an earlier $506 million award it won against the iPhone maker.

A Madison, Wisconsin federal court rejected a request by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation to reopen the case based on a new theory of how Apple allegedly infringed a computer-processing patent. The court on Tuesday issued a final judgment for Apple.

WARF, Apple and their attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

WARF sued Apple in 2014, arguing that chips used in iPhones and iPads violated its rights in technology for improving processor performance.

A Wisconsin jury awarded WARF $234 million in 2015, and U.S. District Judge William Conley increased the award to over $506 million with additional damages in 2017.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned the verdict in 2018 and said no reasonable juror could have found that Apple’s chips infringed. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected WARF’s request to review the decision in 2019.

WARF requested a new trial in Wisconsin later that year, arguing it should be allowed to present a new theory based on the Federal Circuit’s new interpretation of its patent. The foundation said Apple’s chips infringed by using the equivalent of its technology, even though it did not match the exact wording of its patent.

Conley rejected WARF’s request Tuesday because the foundation had dropped the theory by choice before trial, and its decision to abandon the theory was unrelated to either court’s interpretation of the patent.

The case is Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation v. Apple Inc, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, No. 3:14-cv-00062.

For WARF: Morgan Chu of Irell & Manella

For Apple: William Lee of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr

Read more:

Apple wins reversal in University of Wisconsin patent lawsuit

U.S. Supreme Court snubs University of Wisconsin appeal in patent fight with Apple

Apple ordered to pay $234 million to university for infringing patent

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