Judge drops $533M fine against Apple, orders new trial

Trisha Thadani | USA TODAY

A federal judge nixed a $532.9 million fine against Apple for an iTunes-related lawsuit, and ordered a new trial to recalculate the damages.

This trial concerns a case that traces back to 2013, when Tyler, Texas-based Smartflash claimed Apple used its patents on iTunes without permission. A federal jury ruled in February that Apple must fork over $532.9 million in damages to Smartflash.

According to Reuters, U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap in Tyler, Texas, overturned the verdict on Tuesday, stating that the jury may have been confused by his instructions on how to accurately calculate the royalties.

Following the February ruling, Apple argued that the damages were improperly calculated because the jury may have considered the entire market value of the products, rather than considering the difference between the patented and unpatented features.

Gilstrap set a new trial to reconsider the damages for Sept. 14 in Tyler.

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