Apple Erases $300 Million Patent Verdict, Granted New Trial (1)

The Federal Circuit wiped out a $300 million jury verdict against Apple Inc. Monday, ruling that the verdict form was flawed because the key question on patent infringement was overly general.

The district court’s verdict form deprived Apple of its right to a unanimous decision by asking the jury whether the tech giant infringed “ANY” of the claims from five different patents that Optis Cellular Technology LLC accused it of infringing, according to a precedential opinion authored by Judge Sharon Prost for the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

The “verdict form improperly combined all asserted patents in ...