Apple wins $625m patent appeal

Computing giant Apple has come out the victor in a three-year-old patent infringement suit that would have cost the company more than $625 million for infringing on patents held by Mirror Worlds, reports Cnet.

The case, in which a jury had found Apple liable last October, targeted the Cover Flow, Spotlight search, and Time Machine features found in Apple's Mac OS.

The October jury ruling was fought by the California-based technology company with an emergency motion to stay. In that motion, Apple said the damages were too high and urged the court to re-evaluate the evidence.

“Mirror Worlds may have painted an appealing picture for the jury, but it failed to lay a solid foundation sufficient to support important elements it was required to establish under the law,” said federal judge Leonard Davis in the ruling, says Reuters.

He also denied Apple's request for a new trial. Apple did not reply to a request for comment. Mirror Worlds could not immediately be reached.

According to Computerworld, last year a Texas jury awarded Mirror Worlds $625.5 million, $208.5 million for each of the three alleged patent violations.

A week later, Apple asked Davis to delay his final ruling, claiming that the award amounted to “triple dipping.”

The award was among the largest ever in a patent infringement case, and more than double the one Microsoft has appealed to the US Supreme Court.