Judge Lucy Koh of the Northern District of California has rejected Apple’s bid for punitive damages in its patent lawsuit against Samsung that resulted in a $1 billion jury award last year.  By statute, a court can award punitive damages up to three times the amount of the actual damages if the plaintiff presents clear and convincing evidence of willful patent infringement.  Judge Koh, however, granted Samsung’s motion for judgment as a matter of law on that issue, finding that that Samsung’s infringement of Apple’s patents was not objectively willful. 

Hat tip: IP Nav blog and Wired