> How exactly does this effect the current state of the trial? Probably not much, since I don't think there's something like "fair use" of patents. Either you

> How exactly does this effect the current state of the trial? Probably not much, since I don't think there's something like "fair use" of patents. Either you infringe, or you don't. > I thought we were just waiting for the judge to finish making up his mind and give his verdict. Is that correct? Well, the trial is three phases: copyright, patents and damages. The jury is now deliberating on phase 2, patents. If they find that Google infringed one or both of the patents in question, there will be a phase 3 that assess the damage. I don't know if this position paper has any place in phase 3, but at least it's a possibility.