"Apple is going to want to stay until the appeal comes down." Or maybe not. If Apple thinks, like some including myself, that 108 was erroniously included in the CE with 774 it may never have to be appealed if it gets completely thrown out. If that is the case, Apple may want to settle beforehand for what they percieve to be a lesser amount than if they go all the way. Then Handal needs to decide how strongly he feels about the inclusion of 108 in the CE and if offered a settlement by Apple, Edig may decide that they want to go all the way. My understanding of collateral estopppel is that it prevents a new court from re litigating something that already has been decided by a prior court. Well, the CO decision was all on 774, so how can something be re litigated when it was not litigated in the first place? Now back to something that Fred has said(paraphrase) infringement on one patent is as good as infringement on several patents. And all this does not take into consideration that 774 et al were reaffirmed through the re exam process. I think Handal is doing a very good job.