A federal judge in Chicago, Ohio has thrown the Apple-Motorola Mobility smartphone patent case out the courtroom window and locked the window behind it, making sure it never finds its way back inside his court.
Judge Richard Posner dismissed the patent case late Friday evening, writing in his opinion that neither side proved any damages caused by the other party. His ruling came with prejudice, meaning neither side can reopen the case to attempt to prove damages for a second time.
[More from Mashable: 6 Mobile Apps for Your Job Hunt]
"It would be ridiculous to dismiss a suit for failure to prove damages and allow the plaintiff to refile the suit so that he could have a second chance to prove damages," reads Posner's opinion. "This case is therefore dismissed with prejudice; a separate order to that effect is being entered today."
The ruling comes as a blow to Apple, which was hoping to gain an upper hand in the ongoing battle of mobile devices.
[More from Mashable: Which of These Concepts Might Be the iPhone 5? [PICS]]
The two companies have been engaged in judicial combat over smartphone patents since the spring of 2010. Motorola Mobility -- now a division of Google -- sued Apple. Apple returned fire with a counter-suit a month later.
During pretrial hearings, the outspoken Posner threw out most of Motorola's patent claims and a handful of those belonging to Apple. Earlier in June, he canceled the full trial, saying neither side could prove damages and that an injunction would be “contrary to the public interest."
Posner reversed that decision last week, allowing both companies to submit sealed legal arguments. However, he ultimately found neither company's claims convincing. In his 38-page opinion, Posner takes several legal potshots at both companies for lacking strong arguments, being disorganized during the court proceedings and failing to successfully argue that damages were done.
The two companies are still engaged in legal disputes in the International Trade Commission and in European courts.
Read Posner's full decision below:
Apple-Google Patent Case Decision
This story originally published on Mashable here.
