IP News: Apple’s Spat with Samsung; Monsanto’s Big Victory

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is seeking sanctions after a lawyer for Samsung Electronics publicly released evidence a judge had excluded from the trial in which Apple alleges that the Korean manufacturer copied designs and technology from the iPhone and iPad. Apple says the July 31 release was meant to prejudice the jury. The Samsung attorney who approved the release of the information said that it was done in response to a request from the media and the information was already public. Apple is seeking $2.5 billion for its claims, while Samsung has countersued, claiming that Apple has infringed its patents.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD), the world’s largest restaurant chain, says it will send a cease-and-desist letter to a candidate for Kansas State Senate who using its name in a political advertisement. Representative Joe Patton is running a “Happy Meals” ad that attacks his opponent’s tax plan. Patton said he would pull ad upon request from McDonald’s.

Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) was awarded $1 billion in a patent-infringement trial against E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. (NYSE: DD), better known as DuPont. It was the biggest U.S. jury verdict this year, and the fourth-largest jury award in a patent trial in U.S. history, according to Bloomberg. The trial revolved around Monsanto’s patent for seeds for growing herbicide-tolerant soybeans. Monsanto had offered to settle the lawsuit during the trial by giving DuPont the opportunity to license its technology. DuPont said in a statement that it strongly disagrees with the verdict and will appeal it.

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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