Apple has been ordered to pay more than US $700 million to the Texas-based cellular technology company Optis in a UK patent ruling, reports ipfray.
Some background
In February PanOptis, an intellectual property holding company for Optis Wireless Technology, Optis Cellular Technology, and Unwired Planet, launched a campaign revealing the ways certain tech giants, specifically Apple, Inc., “have undermined and underpaid innovators, both large and small, on whose critical technology their smartphones—and bottom line—rely.”
Here’s what PanOptis — which I consider to be a “patent troll” — claimed: For smartphones, including Apple’s iPhone, the most important development in the last 20 years was the rapid wireless network called LTE (Long-Term Evolution), the first truly global standard that could connect us all. LTE serves as the global standard for mobile functionality, and these types of common standards allow consumers using a smartphone from any manufacturer to share voice and data in a seamless and efficient manner.
Companies such as Qualcomm, Ericsson, Nokia, InterDigital, Samsung, LG, and Panasonic, among others, invest tens of billions of dollars annually in cellular-related R&D. As with any such effort, these companies protect their ideas by obtaining patents. However, at every juncture, Apple’s approach to leveraging this intellectual property and innovative common standard reveals a distinct pattern: exploiting innovative technologies that support and enable its products and ecosystem, while putting in place policies which have the effect of devaluing said technologies – all with the aim of maximizing its own profits.
Apple’s strategy not only cripples cellular R&D by disincentivizing its outputs, but also distorts the overall tech landscape and, if left unaddressed, has the potential to significantly stagnate mobile technological progress in the long-term, said PanOptis President and CEO Brian Blasius.
The latest development
Today the England and Wales Court of Appeal ruled that Apple must pay a lump sum of $502 million to Optis Cellular Technology for the use of standard-essential 4G patents in iPhones and iPads over a 14-year period spanning from 2013 to 2027. That’s a big increase from the $56.43 million originally awarded by the High Court in 2023. In addition to the revised damages figure, the new judgment also includes interest, which could exceed $200 million, bringing Apple’s total liability in the case to more than $700 million.
“This is probably the largest patent damages award in UK history,” notes ipfray. “ It is also, arguably, the most massive turnaround that ever happened in a dispute over SEP royalties.”
What is a patent troll?
PanOptis is described as an “an intellectual property management and finance firm.” In other words, a “patent troll.” a patent troll is an individual or an organization that purchases and holds patents for unscrupulous purposes such as stifling competition or launching patent infringement suits. In legal terms, a patent troll is a type of non-practicing entity: someone who holds a patent but is not involved in the design or manufacture of any product.
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