Stephen Lawson for Computerworld:

Apple and Samsung Electronics have until Monday to further boil down the number of claims to be considered in the sweeping intellectual-property lawsuit concerning their smartphone and tablet products, which is now scheduled to go to trial July 30.Judge Lucy Koh of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ordered the companies to pare down the case, in which Apple and Samsung are suing each other over patent infringement and other claims, so a jury can understand and fairly judge the issues in one trial. It was the second time the judge had asked them to downsize their claims. The order came at a case management conference at the court on Wednesday afternoon.

Koh called the breadth and depth of patent infringement claims “cruel and unusual” to inflict to a jury in its present state, and ordered the companies to simplify their suits before the case goes to trial in July.