Supreme Court Won’t Revive Suit Against Apple by University

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Supreme Court refused to revive a $506 million patent-infringement lawsuit against Apple Inc. by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s licensing unit.

The court rejected arguments by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation that a U.S. appeals court should have ordered a new trial instead of dismissing the case when it threw out a jury verdict against Apple.

The foundation said the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which hears all patent appeals, has been inconsistent in deciding which cases warrant a new trial when it throws out a jury’s interpretation of a patent.

As a result, rulings often depend on which judges are chosen for the three-member appellate panel on a particular case, the foundation said in its appeal. “This court’s guidance is needed.”

The jury had ordered Apple to pay $234 million in a dispute over microprocessor technology. The judge added more damages, royalties and interest to bring the final judgment to $506 million. That figure would have gone higher if the appeals court had upheld the verdict.

Apple, in urging the Supreme Court to deny the foundation’s appeal, argued that the Federal Circuit used settled law to decide that “no reasonable juror could have found” infringement in the case.

The microprocessor technology involved in the case provides a way for computer processors to execute instructions. The foundation claimed that Apple’s A7, A8 and A8X chips in the iPhone 5s and iPad infringed its patent. A second case, which is pending, targets newer Apple processors.

The case is Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation v. Apple Inc., 18-1508.

To contact the reporter on this story: Susan Decker in Washington at sdecker1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at jmorgan97@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny, Laurie Asséo

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