Last summer, Apple lost a lawsuit for Optis Wireless’s LTE patents, resulting in $ 506 million in damages. At the time, Apple said it would appeal the decision, and today a federal judge ruled that the damages were clear and that Apple should be able to argue that the royalty claims were correct.
As we reported last year, “The process focused on a handful of Optis Wireless patents, all related to the use of LTE cellular technology in the iPhone, Apple Watch and iPad.”
In the case of the East Texas District, Optis claimed that Apple infringed its LTE patents and also refused to sign a licensing agreement. Among other things, Apple said that the look inside its hardware proved that it did not infringe the mentioned patents. In the end, the jury voted that Apple did not prove that Optis’ claims were not valid.
Apple immediately promised to appeal the verdict, saying that “such lawsuits from companies that file patents simply to harass the industry only serve to stifle innovation and harm consumers.”
We’re moving forward to this day, and U.S. District Court Judge Rodney Gilstrap dropped $ 506 million in damages awarded to Optis in the case last year (via Bloomberg).
U.S. District Court Judge Rodney Gilstrap said the jury should have been allowed to examine whether the royalty application was consistent with the requirement that essential standard patents be licensed on “fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory” terms or FRAND.
However, while Apple won a new lawsuit, Judge Gilstrap did not deny the finding. So Apple is not completely clear here, but it will have another chance to support its case.
Another major case that Apple has struggled with for almost a decade has been with VirnetX through VPN patents. The total damage could amount to over $ 1 billion, and in January Apple failed to cancel the lawsuit. Then, in February, Apple’s request for a repeat in the VirnetX case was rejected.
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