Apple E-Book Settlement Contingent on Losing Appeal

With trial set to begin before U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in New York next month, Apple has agreed to pay as much as $400 million to settle a lawsuit over accusations that it colluded with publishers to fix the price of e-books. Interestingly, the settlement avoids a second trial and depends on Apple losing an appeal of last year's ruling that it violated anti-trust laws over pricing. That ruling found Apple orchestrated a conspiracy with five publishers to artificially raise e-book prices. Apple has continued to deny that it engaged in any wrongdoing and will not have to pay if it prevails in its appeal, now in the Second Circuit in New York. If approved by the trial judge, the money would go to consumers and Apple will pay legal fees upon losing the appeal. Lawyers representing consumers and 33 states were requesting over $800 million in damages for those negatively impacted by the alleged higher prices for e-books. Publishers accused of colluding with Apple-- Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Penguin, Macmillan and Simon & Schuster already settled in a separate lawsuit. Reportedly, the settlement had previously been announced last month, but the details had not yet been released. See stories here-- http://bbc.in/1mVvS4W and http://abcn.ws/1jyQqB3

Judge Lucy Koh Questions Tech Class Settlement

Major technology companies recently agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit in which 64,000 employees accused them of conspiring not to recruit each other's workers, suppressing compensation. The case alleged an inner circle of Silicon Valley executives communicated during a period when the interoperability of companies' products was often discussed. Embarrassing emails between company executives surfacing during E-discovery played a role in the settlement, with four tech companies agreeing to pay plaintiffs $324.5 million. Plaintiffs had planned to ask for about $3 billion in damages at trial, which could have been trebled under antitrust law. Last week, Judge Koh told plaintiffs during a hearing that they had leverage going into trial against the defendants, given the strength of emails showing former CEOs, such as Apple's Steve Jobs and Google's Eric Schmidt, were planning to enforce their no-poaching agreement. Reportedly, Judge Koh had concerns about whether the amount is really fair to the class and deferred a decision about whether to approve the deal. Though Plaintiffs' attorney said the workers faced serious risks on appeal all the way up, Judge Koh was skeptical the Supreme Court would get involved by further restricting class actions. She has previously approved separate settlements totaling $20 million reached by Disney's Lucasfilm and Pixar units, and Intuit. Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe are paying a higher premium to settle this case than Disney and Intuit did, as calculated by the number of employees from each company in the class. Avoiding executives appearing on the witness stand made a settlement attractive. The civil case followed a 2010 Justice Department case on the same matter. Trial was set to begin last month in California. See story here-- http://reut.rs/1q5cB3Y

Apple and Google Bury the Hatchet

Apple and Google settled all smartphone patent litigation between last week, dismissing their cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Interestingly, the settlement does not include a typical cross license of respective patents. Steve Jobs once called Android a "stolen product." Apple was unable to slow Android's growth to the majority of new mobile phones sold. In 2010, Motorola preemptively accused Apple of infringing several patents, including one essential to how cellphones operate on a 3G network, while Apple said Motorola violated its patents to certain smartphone features in 2011. U.S. District Judge Richard Posner dismissed that case in 2012 shortly before trial, saying neither company had sufficient evidence to prove its case. Last month, the appeals court gave Apple another chance to win a sales ban against Motorola. Google acquired Motorola Mobility in 2012 and recently agreed to sell its handset business to Lenovo, while keeping the vast majority of the patents. Google may have been encouraged to settle with Apple after regulators in the U.S. and Europe criticized the company for the legal strategy it employed with Motorola's patents. Motorola had pursued injunctions against Apple products based on patents that regulators said it was required to license to Apple. Apple's incentive to keep fighting the Motorola suit may have been diminished by the pending sale to Lenovo. See stories here-- http://on.wsj.com/1pbg90S and http://reut.rs/1p0pjgL and cases 2012-1528 & 2012-1549 at http://www.cafc.uscourts.gov

Apple and HTC bury handset hatchet, will others?

Apple and HTC this week announced a broad ten-year licensing agreement that settles all lawsuits between the smartphone makers. Last spring, a Delaware court ordered Apple and HTC to meet before Labor Day in the hopes that they could shake hands and put an end to an escalating legal battle through mediation. Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, while reportedly not a fan of lawsuits, did take the Samsung patent case to trial this year. HTC of Taiwan was eager to eliminate handset shipping delays stemming from Apple's court wins. The global settlement to their patent battle includes current and future patents held by both companies. HTC agreed to pay Apple $6 to $8 in licensing fees for each Android phone it sells, estimated at as much as $280 million to be paid to Apple annually from HTC's expected shipments. Apple first sued HTC for infringing on patents related to the iPhone in 2010, as part of the war against Google Android phones and its manufacturing partners declared by Apple’s founder Steve Jobs. Apple and HTC have since fought in courts around the world, with Apple winning multiple decisions. Industry experts comment that the terms of this agreement could be used as a blueprint for future settlements with other Android manufacturers, including Samsung and Motorola. See more at http://on.mash.to/Tuu42k and http://engt.co/JjLjlm