RE:RE:Wilan v. MicrosoftFor those that did not follow Wilan/IP monetization, here is the likely process going forward:
The verdict is not official until the judge accepts or modifies the jury award and issues the court's FINAL ORDER.
MSFT will now file several motions with the judge. Likely topics will be to request a Judgement as a Matter of Law (JOML) that certain legal statdards have not been met during the trial, that the patent is invalid, that MSFT did not infringe and that damages, if any, are improperly calculated. With briefs, replies and sur-replies, this ususally takes 2-3 months.
After the court's FINAL ORDER, either party has 60 days, I believe, to file an appeal with the CAFC. A 3-judge panel hears the case. Typically, this process can span 12-18 months, ending with oral arguments (you can listen to the oral arguments on the CAFC website and you can purchase the briefing documents on PACER of other sites). The CAFC court ponders for an additional 30-60 days before issuing its OPINION.
At this point, there is an opportunity for either party to ask for an en banc hearing where the full CAFC hears arguments. This step is rejected in the overwhelming percentage of cases.
Next, either party can appeal to the Supreme Court. Based on history, in the absence of a precendent setting issue which does not appear to be the case here, the Supreme Court does not take up the action.
This action appears to heading to the CAFC as the court has already DENIED MSFT's briefing that the damages are inappropriate and commented in its ruling that the damages methodology was sound. Pre trial, the court ruled that the patents were not unpatentable and that agrumments on patentabliity and infringement should be heard by the jury. The jury ruled in Wilan's favor on both issues, so the judge, having had the opportunity to rule on validity and infringement, did not do so. The judge in this case, Andrews, makes solid decisions that are rarely overturned on appeal. Note - he was also the judge in the Wilan v. Amazon action.
The court's FINAL ORDER is the next pivotal point.
Settlements can happen at any point in the process. It is now a financial risk calculation for MSFT. Wilan has asked for pre-judgement interest and legal fees, but waived wilfullness; these requests will be addressed in the court's FINAL ORDER. The statuatory interest rate in Delaware is 5%, I believe, which, if awarded would add ~$100M to the tab. It is typical, in cases where there is a clear verdict, that the winning party is awarded legal costs. If the court adopts the verdict in its FINAL ORDER, financially, MSFT is facing ~$40M -$45M in additional costs to carry through to a CAFC OPINION. That amount, weighed against the total damages/interest may be low enough that MSFT will take the action to a full appeal.
I'll continue to keep abreast of this case, the Google case and the universal connectivity campaign as they represent a significant secondary catalyst fro QTRH.