Apple fights back against half billion dollar punishment

Apple’s appealing against a court decision which could see the company hand over as much as $625.5 million in damages relating to technologies relating to Spotlight, Time Machine and Cover Flow.

The verdict was issued last Friday, when US District Judge Leonard David presided over a jury who declared Apple was guilty of patent abuse. The patents relate to work by Yale professor David Gerlenter whose spin-off firm Mirror Worlds Technologies launched the lawsuit.

“Apple asked U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis for an emergency stay of the Oct. 1 verdict, saying there are outstanding issues on two of the three patents. Apple said patent owner Mirror Worlds would also be “triple dipping” if it were able to collect $208.5 million on each of the patents,” Bloomberg writes.

Mirror Worlds launched the lawsuit in 2008. It complains Apple’s products infringe three patents for how documents are displayed on a screen.

“Davis also is considering Apple’s request, filed before the verdict, to rule the company doesn’t infringe two of the patents. The judge said that if he granted that request, he’d strike the amount of damages attributed to those two patents.”