Failure by the Legal Team
Trying to find out more information regarding the delay in the decision, I decided to call the clerk's office to check the status of the case.
The gal I talked to indicated that it was very unusual not to have a single entry since January 2011's oral rebriefing entry. She indicated that the delay IS unusually long in the case (but couldn't tell me why) and she thinks (but isn't fully sure) that it may be the longest pending case before the CAFC at this point. She did say there weren't any unusual or surprising developments with the panel itself (they are all still sitting, etc.).
She indicated that there are two avenues that can be pursued. First and most obvious is that either party can file a motion with the CAFC to get a status update to prod the court to reach a decision. (She confirmed that neither party has done this....not surprising in Nokia's case since it won but I find this somewhat surprising given how important the decision is to IDCC.) Second, the parties can attempt a petition to the Supreme Court to intervene in the name of justice (as timeliness is part and parcel to the concept of justice).
Given these additional avenues to pursue...the question arises as to WHY management and its legal team is not pursuing either of these avenues. (Is it waiting until it is the longest pending CAFC decision in history before begging the question?) It appears to me that this delay is interfering heavily with both the previous strategic review and current licensing efforts so unless management is less confident than they have indicated...they should be doing EVERYTHING they can legal do to get a decision published.
VG
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