Friday, February 27, 2004

Jury Returns Verdict for IBM in Santa Clara "Clean Room" Trial

After just two days of deliberations, the jury has found for IBM in the Santa Clara "clean room" trial. IBM's counsel says that if you put on a four-month case and can't get the jury to deliberate for even three days, it says something about the strength of your claims. Plaintiffs's counsel say they were shackled by adverse evidentiary rulings under California law and will do better in other cases. See today's New York Times story for further details.
Fed. R. Evid. 702: If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise, if (1) the testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data, (2) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods, and (3) the witness has applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case.