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Judge Orders Apple and Samsung to Narrow Lawsuit Claims

Judge Orders Apple and Samsung to Narrow Lawsuit Claims

On Thursday, U.S. Federal Judge Lucy Koh ordered Apple and Samsung to narrow down their respective cases in their upcoming 2014 patent suit, saying both parties should have an idea which of their assertions are strongest by now.

Gavel

AppleInsider

According to an in-court report from Bloomberg, Judge Lucy Koh told Apple and Samsung counsel to “focus and streamline” their cases, limiting them to 25 patent claims and 25 products.

“We’ll keep narrowing and narrowing,” Judge Koh said. “You’ve already been litigating this thing for a year; you must know something about what’s your best case.”

The lawsuit began in February 2012 as a complaint by Apple against the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, but has expanded to cover a plethora of allegedly infringing devices, including the flagship iPhone 5 and Galaxy S III handsets. Last week, Apple filed to include Samsung’s Galaxy Note lineup to its case, while Samsung added three patent infringement charges against “all generations” of the iPhone and iPad.

Judge Koh announced in mid-February that she was considering a hold on the case until an appeals court made a ruling on the Apple v. Samsung trial. The appeal was filed by Apple after it made an unsuccessful bid to ban certain of Samsung’s devices after winning the landmark $1.05 billion verdict in August of 2012. Apple, of course, wants the lawsuit to move forward. Samsung, however wants a hold put on the second suit.

Both parties get until March 7th to submit their official statements about the matter, after which Judge Koh will make a decision.