US District Court Judge Lucy Koh oversees a case pitting Apple against GPNE. GPNE is suing Apple for infringing on one of its patents.

The case itself is important, in that GPNE is demanding payment for every iPhone sold. To my untrained eye, the claim seems laughable, were it not for the fact that much money is being spent to defend this case.

Judge Koh issued this order:

In an unusual order, a federal judge last week told Apple that it may not call a Hawaii-based company names like “patent troll” or “privateer” or “bandit,” nor tell a jury that the company is engaged in a “shakedown” or “playing the lawsuit lottery.”

Interesting to me that Judge Lucy Koh’s name continues to be tightly linked to Apple. There are 15 judges in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (Apple’s district), yet Koh seems to be the pick for every high profile case involving Apple. Presumably, there’s a reason for this. Perhaps the selection is based on expertise, familiarity with Apple. I’ve got no problem with that, just musing.