Apple (AAPL) shares were edging higher Monday after the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated a $300 million jury verdict against the tech giant in a patent infringement case filed by Optis Cellular Technology, according to a court ruling.

The Federal Circuit dismissed Optis Cellular's cross-appeal to reinstate the original damages verdict and reversed the district court's finding, citing a flawed verdict form that raised an overly general patent infringement question, according to the ruling.

"We conclude that the district court abused its discretion under Federal Rule of Evidence 403 by admitting into evidence the Apple-Qualcomm settlement agreement and Optis's damages expert's testimony concerning that agreement," the court said.

The Federal Circuit also said that the district court deprived Apple of its right to an unanimous jury, and decided to send the case back to the district court for a new trial on both infringement and damages.

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