Apple ordered to pay $300 million in patent dispute

It is pretty common for Apple to find itself in court battling patent disputes. This time around, Apple found itself on the defensive, as a company known as Optis demanded royalties from sales of iPhones. A jury has now sided with Optis in this case, forcing Apple to pay $300 million. 

As reported by Reuters, a Texas jury ruled in favour of Optis Wireless Technology late last week, finding that Apple infringed on wireless patents with its iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch products. Apple initially lost this lawsuit in 2020, at which point a jury awarded Optis over $500 million.

After a retrial, the jury shaved some money off of the initial reward amount for Optis, bringing it down to $300 million. As pointed out by The Register, the patents that Optis based its lawsuit on once belonged to other tech giants, like LG, Panasonic and Samsung. Speaking with The Verge, an Apple spokesperson was quick to point out that Optis does not create any real products and instead bases its business on litigation:

“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 may appeal once again and make another attempt at getting the ruling overturned. Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: This wouldn't be the first time that Apple has lost a lawsuit against a patent troll. The case might not be over yet, however, as Apple could appeal again. 

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