In last year's epic courtroom clash between Samsung and Apple, one of the patents in dispute was the ‘318 patent, commonly referred to as the “bounce-back” patent. Since winning in the initial trial, Apple has suffered several setbacks in their effort to collect over $1 Billion in damages. One might think the USPTO ruling the bounce-back patent as invalid might be one of those setbacks, especially since Apple was awarded damages for 18 Samsung devices that allegedly infringed on the patent. Judge Lucy Koh seems to think otherwise and has issued a ruling denying a Samsung motion for a new trial regarding the bounce-back patent.
The ruling came as part of a whole batch of orders issued by Judge Koh regarding a schedule and rules for an upcoming retrial on the amount of damages to be levied against Samsung. We will have to keep an eye on the proceedings themselves to see whether Samsung is allowed to argue the value of any damages must be zero since the patent was not valid.
Neither Samsung nor Apple have issued comments or a response to this latest ruling.
source: CNET
Simple test: If the jury had known that the patents are invalid, would they have awarded the decision to Apple? The patents are the entire basis of the lawsuit.