Texas court reconsiders damages against Apple for patent infringement

TYLER, Texas, July 8 (UPI) -- A federal judge ruled that Apple would not have to pay $533 million in damages over an iTunes patent infringement case.

Texas-based Smartflash, a patent-licensing company, had accused Apple of infringing on three of its patents in May 2013. The patents involve methods for accessing and storing songs, videos and games using iTunes.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap recalled his February decision to award damages to Smartflash because the royalties associated with Apple's products might have been improperly calculated.

Essentially, Apple said that it was being asked to pay for the market value of the products that Smartflash says used its patents, instead of leaving out the features that are unpatented. Gilstrap added that the methods he used to determine the damages were legally correct but inapplicable to the case.

In regard to the disputed patents, the company claims that its founder, Patrick Racz, had discussed the nature of the patents with an individual that ultimately joined top staff at Apple.

Smartflash is a company that makes money by chasing after misuse of patents in court. Apple has criticized Smartflash's agenda, saying it has no employees, creates no jobs and ultimately exploits the patent system in search of royalties.

A new trial solely on the issue of the damages is now set for Sept. 14.