The United States Patent and Trademark Office (UPSTO) has rejected multiple claims of Apple’s ‘172 autocomplete patent, including claim 18, the one asserted against Samsung in the second patent litigation, reports Florian Müller of Foss Patents.
The news comes hot on the heel of Apple and Samsung ending their patent war outside the US. Since the patent was successfully asserted against Samsung in the trial, it means that the damages awarded to Apple will probably be reduced.
The second California patent litigation between Apple and Samsung ended with a $119 million verdict for Apple. The damages granted to the iPhone maker was a far cry from the $2 billion originally demanded by Apple. And, with the autocomplete patent deemed invalid, the damages amount will almost certainly decrease again.
Although the two tech giants decided the litigation in many countries across the globe, they will, nonetheless, continue to focus on the US patent litigation. In other words, the patent hostilities haven’t ended; the battles abroad will only intensify the conflict in the American courts.
