A federal judge has set aside a $655,000 judgment awarded to Wade Cook in a copyright-infringement trial that pitted Cook against rival seminar guru Tony Robbins.

Cook, a former Tacoma cab driver whose Seattle-based company now runs stock-market seminars across the country, sued Robbins for using phrases from his book "Wall Street Money Machine" in a course called "Financial Power."

Robbins conceded using two terms commonly used by Cook in his stock-market teachings: "meter drop" and "rolling stock." But Robbins said he gave Cook full credit for his ideas while delivering the original "Financial Power" seminar.

In October, a Tacoma jury found in favor of Cook, awarding him $655,000 in damages.

However, in a ruling issued yesterday, U.S. District Judge Jack Tanner said there was "not a scintilla of evidence" that Cook had suffered any direct financial damages as a result of Robbins' use of the terms.

Tanner overturned the jury's judgment and said a new trial is not warranted.

Sam Georges, chief operating officer for the Anthony Robbins Companies, said Tanner's ruling underscores Robbins' belief that Cook "doesn't own these phrases any more than he owns the dictionary."

Representatives for Cook were not available for comment.