Apple has been ordered to pay $ 506 million for patent infringement held by PanOptis and related companies, according to a court ruling today. As Law360 reports, the verdict comes from an Eastern District of Texas federal jury. Notably, this was the first personal jury trial on patents since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
The lawsuit focused on a handful of Optis Wireless patents, all related to the use of LTE cellular technology in the iPhone, Apple Watch, and iPad. Apple intended to prove during the trial that it had not infringed on the technology in the patents to gain access to LTE networks.
One of Apple’s main arguments was that you could go to the gut of an iPhone to learn that it did not infringe on the patents in question. Apple had claimed that the iPhone’s compatibility with LTE – like other smartphones on the market – was not evidence of infringement.
On the other hand, Optis Wireless claimed that Apple infringed on its patents and refused to enter into a license agreement. Optis Wireless claimed that it had offered Apple a ‘worldwide license’ for the use of the standard essential patents related to LTE. This, according to the company, was in accordance with its obligations “Honest, fair and non-discriminatory”. Optis Wireless claimed that it had “repeatedly” negotiated an agreement with Apple, but the negotiations were unsuccessful.
The patents at the heart of the infringement case:
- “Method and apparatus for sending and receiving messages for shared control channel in a wireless communication system with orthogonal frequency division Multiple access”
- “Method for sending and receiving control information via PDCCH”
- “Mobile station device and method of random access”
- “System and Method for Channel Estimation in a Delayed Various Wireless Communication System”
- “Method for Sending Uplink Signals”
- “Switch mode between SU-MIMO and MU-MIMO.”
- “Signaling channel with a common signal field for transport format and redundant version”
Despite Apple’s argument, the jury found that Apple failed to prove that Optis Wireless’ Patis claims were invalid. Therefore, Apple has to pay $ 506,200,000 to Optis Wireless and its related companies for sales in the past.
Apple promises to appeal a ruling over a $ 500M patent. “Cases like these by companies that collect patents to hurt the sector only serve innovation and harm to customers.” Https://t.co/JX5NCzXu8o
– Ina Fried (@inafried) 11 August 2020
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