Apple ordered to pay $300 million to patent troll Optis

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By Mark Anthony Ramirez
published

Optis wireless wins $300 million in LTE patent trial against Apple

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(Image credit: Apple)

In July 2021, we reported a recent patent case against Apple by known patent troll Optis wireless. Last August, Optis won a $500 million settlement against Apple in a patent case later vacated by a Judge in Texas this past April. The same judge ordered a new trial which reached a verdict on August 13, awarding Optis $300 million in damages that Apple must soon pay for supposedly infringing on several LTE technology patents. 

At the new trial, US District Judge Rodney Gilstrap said, "the first jury was unable to determine if the amount was awarded on the FRAND (a fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory basis) terms usually required in standard-essential patent cases." 

The major issue with this case is that PanOptis and its sibling companies, Optis Wireless, Optis Cellular Technology, Unwired Planet, and Unwired Planet International, are known as non-practicing entities that hold patents they purchase but never use them to build products or provide services. Instead, they generate revenue via patent litigation, with Optis companies being well-known patent trolls. 

Apple said in a statement, "Optis makes no products, and its sole business is to sue companies using patents they accumulate. We will continue to defend against their attempts to extract unreasonable payments for patents they acquire."

Apple is defending itself in several patent infringement cases totaling brought against the tech giant by Optis. In a UK case, Apple's lawyers suggested that the company consider leaving the UK market to avoid dealing with patent troll Optis Wireless and its affiliated companies. 

Via MacRumors

Mark Anthony Ramirez
Mark Anthony Ramirez

Mark has spent 20 years headlining comedy shows around the country and made appearances on ABC, MTV, Comedy Central, Howard Stern, Food Network, and Sirius XM Radio. He has written about every topic imaginable, from dating, family, politics, social issues, and tech. He wrote his first tech articles for the now-defunct Dads On Tech 10 years ago, and his passion for combining humor and tech has grown under the tutelage of the Laptop Mag team. His penchant for tearing things down and rebuilding them did not make Mark popular at home, however, when he got his hands on the legendary Commodore 64, his passion for all things tech deepened. These days, when he is not filming, editing footage, tinkering with cameras and laptops, or on stage, he can be found at his desk snacking, writing about everything tech, new jokes, or scripts he dreams of filming.