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The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington upheld a lower court's finding on Tuesday when it ruled that Apple didn't infringe on patents owned by Mirror Worlds. The patent fight between the two companies started in 2008 over claims that the Cover Flow, Time Machine and Spotlight features in OS X infringe on Mirror Worlds-owned patents.
The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington upheld a lower court's finding on Tuesday when it ruled that Apple didn't infringe on patents owned by Mirror Worlds. The patent fight between the two companies started in 2008 over claims that the Cover Flow, Time Machine and Spotlight features in OS X infringe on Mirror Worlds-owned patents.
The Appeals Court stated, "The evidence was insufficient to support the jury's finding of infringement for all of the asserted claims," according to Bloomberg. The court also said the Mirror Worlds patents are, in fact, valid, which leaves the company open to pursue other lawsuits.
The case was originally filed in Eastern Texas Federal Court, which is known as a favorite venue for patent holders. The court ruled in October 2010 that Apple did infringe on the Mirror Worlds patents, and ordered the Cupertino-based company to pay US$208.5 million per patent in damages, or over $625 million.
Apple appealed the ruling, and at the same time managed to get its own patent on Cover Flow.
In April, 2011, Apple won its appeal in the case with Judge Leonard Davis ruling, "In this case, Mirror Worlds may have painted an appealing picture for the jury, but it failed to lay a solid foundation sufficient to support important elements it was required to establish under the law."
That 2011 ruling is what the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld on Tuesday, which brings Mirror Worlds pretty much to the end of the line in its fight with Apple.
Neither company has commented on the verdict.