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专栏 - 苹果2_0

苹果诉摩托罗拉侵权案重新开审

Philip Elmer-DeWitt 2012年06月19日

苹果(Apple)公司内部流传着一个老笑话,那就是史蒂夫·乔布斯周围是一片“现实扭曲力场”:你离他太近的话,就会相信他所说的话。苹果的数百万用户中已经有不少成了该公司的“信徒”,而很多苹果投资者也赚得盆满钵满。不过,Elmer-DeWitt认为,在报道苹果公司时有点怀疑精神不是坏事。听他的应该没错。要知道,他自从1982年就开始报道苹果、观察史蒂夫·乔布斯经营该公司。
主审法官理查德•波斯纳在驳回这起诉讼时曾表示他可能会改变主意,在考虑了七天之后,他决定再给两边一个机会,让他们在6月20日的听证会上证明这件案子的必要性。

波斯纳法官

    我们上次拜访伊利诺斯州北部地区法院时,法官理查德•波斯纳发布了一条指令,“有偏见的”驳回苹果(Apple)诉摩托罗拉(Motorola)专利侵权案,此指令被广泛报道为双方的最终结局。

    不过该指令是试验性的,附有警告称法官可能会在书写自己意见的过程中改变主意。而他确实这样做了。

    FOSS Patents的弗洛里安•穆勒发现了该文件,并将其全文公布如下:

    “我已决定同意苹果在6月7日听证会上提出的请求,即举行‘一次听证会,双方当事人可以就是否满足易趣条款(Ebay factors)进行辩论,并进行一次传统的禁令听证会’。听证会将于6月20日(下周三)上午10点在德克森联邦法院进行。双方均可就自己的一项或多项专利是否被对方侵权一事展开辩论,从而向法院申请禁制令。如果希望提交诉书,请在6月18日(下周一)下班时间之前完成。接下来,对于以合理专利税替代按衡平法判决提出的禁令这一可能性,双方都应该做好准备面对。对于禁令救济或其它衡平法救济,他们应该只从目前的记录中寻找证据(提交补充材料的时间已经太晚)。如果摩托罗拉希望为禁制令辩护,它必须在禁令分析阶段解决其面临的FRAND(公平合理和非歧视)指控。”

    穆勒表示,“所谓‘易趣条款’是法院在宣判禁令时要考虑的四条分析法则。其命名来源于联邦最高法院于2006年对易趣与MercExchange一案做出的判决。”

    他补充道,摩托罗拉将很难说服任何一位法官。该公司提交的作为行业标准的一部分的专利,在所谓的公平、合理且非歧视(FRAND)的许可条款下,很难这样的案件中对苹果造成不利。他的分析见此

    这令人疑惑不解:谷歌(Google)花了125亿美元来收购摩托罗拉移动(Motorola Mobility),它能从这笔交易中得到什么?

    译者:项航

    When last we visited Judge Richard Posner's court in the Northern District of Illinois he had issued an order dismissing "with prejudice" the Apple v. Motorola patent infringement case -- an order that was widely reported as the end of the line for both parties.

    But the order was tentative, and it came with the caveat that the judge might, in the process of writing his opinion, change his mind.

    And that's exactly what he did.

    In a new order filed Wednesday and entered into the record Thursday, Judge Posner scheduled a hearing, as requested by Apple (AAPL), where both parties would have one last chance to make the case for an injunction banning the sale of the other side's product.

    FOSS Patents' Florian Mueller spotted the filing and posted the text in full:

    "I have decided to grant Apple's request, made at the June 7 hearing, for 'a hearing at which the parties could attempt to satisfy the eBay factors and do a traditional injunction hearing.' The hearing will be held next Wednesday, June 20, in a courtroom, to be announced, of the Dirksen Federal Courthouse, at 10 a.m. Each party may argue that it would be entitled to injunctive relief as to its patent or patents were the other party found to have infringed. The parties may submit briefs, if they wish, no later than the close of business on Monday, June 18. The parties should be prepared to address the possibility of substitution for an injunction of an equitable decree for a reasonable royalty going forward. They should indicate any evidence in the existing record (for it is too late to supplement the record) bearing on the question of injunctive or other equitable relief. And if Motorola means to argue for injunctive relief it should be prepared to address the bearing of FRAND on the injunction analysis."

    According to Mueller, "eBay factors" are the four factors that courts consider in their analysis of whether or not to grant an injunction, so-named because of the Supreme Court's 2006 ruling on eBay v. MercExchange.

    He adds that Motorola will have a tough time persuading any judge that patents that the company submitted to be part of an industry standard under so-called fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing terms can be used against Apple in a case like this. See his analysis here.

    It makes you wonder what Google (GOOG) got for the $12.5 billion it spent to acquire Motorola Mobility.

    For more on Judge Posner -- one of the most colorful, influential and apparently unpredictable jurists in the U.S. Court of Appeals -- see here.

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