Apple stands to lose another patent crucial to its battle with Samsung

While Apple had a stunning $1.05 billion trial victory against Samsung this summer, things generally haven't been going its way since the August verdict. On Monday, US District Judge Lucy Koh ruled that Apple's case wasn't strong enough to win an injunction.

With Koh due to publish a post-trial order about damages any day now, a key Apple patent is being threatened at the US Trademark and Patent Office. US Patent No. 7,844,915, the patent covering Apple's "pinch to zoom" smartphone navigation feature, may be invalidated. In a patent reexam, examiners discovered multiple pieces of prior art that they found should reject Apple's claims.

It's no surprise that Samsung immediately filed court papers this afternoon to notify Koh (and the public) of the early results.