Judge denies Apple a sanction it demanded on patent troll's lawyer

Affiliate Disclaimer: Purchases made through our links may earn us a commission. Please review our ethics policy. Apple's bid for penalty against lawyer of 'patent troll' denied by Judge Wesley Hilliard | Jan 04, 2024 Arendi S.A.R.L., a name familiar due to several patent disputes with Apple, Google, and Samsung, finds itself in the news once more. Previously, Apple unsuccessfully sought to dismiss a patent on the grounds of "common sense" in 2016. A 2013 lawsuit involving Google and Arendi has been ongoing, and Apple in May 2023 accused Arendi's lawyer and a testifying witness of revealing confidential information during a court session. Bloomberg Law reports that Judge Jennifer L. Hall of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware dismissed Apple's proposed penalty against Seth Ard of Susman Godfrey, and the witness. Judge Hall stated, "The court has observed the entire trial, including the specific events in question", and concluded that there was no evidence of any intentional breach of court orders by the litigants or any damage to Apple. In its May motion for the penalty, Apple claimed it attended the trial concerned about its confidential information being disclosed by Arendi. A confidential settlement had been previously agreed upon by Apple and Arendi, in a separate lawsuit in September 2021. However, Apple claims that this confidentiality was broken during the Google case, when data was revealed during an expert’s hypothetical question. Apple contends that Arendi failed to ask for the courtroom to be closed before this questioning took place. Arendi responded by arguing that Apple's request was “bewildering”, and didn't take kindly to any suggestion of misconduct on Arendi's counsel’s part. Arendi points out that it had twice requested the courtroom be closed when discussions potentially involving Apple’s confidential information were anticipated. The judge verbally dismissed Apple’s request for a penalty on December 28. Arendi, meanwhile, continues to be embroiled in legal disputes over supposed patent infringements with various entities.