Could a settlement or buyout occur DURING the actual trial? This is one aspect of trials that I'm unfamiliar with. It seems to me that being on the rocket docket, there would be extremely limited time to negotiate a settlement or buyout during the actual trial.
I do think that we will hear something on the week of October 8th regarding settlement, based on the pre-trial conference. That, combined with any last minute judge motion denials (SJ, etc.), should create an idea for both sides as to how the judge sees things. That's not to say that the jury won't see things differently, but all signs current point to VRNG having a huge advantage. I agree with your sentiment that there's too much for Google to lose by taking this to trial.
Disclosure: I'm loaded on October calls and I'm prepared to hold until expiration. If we head to trial, I will load on Nov/Feb calls (depending on how long I think the trial will last). I'm embracing the high risk/high reward scenario here.
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