Following two court losses and two successful appeals, Apple was cleared today on all counts of patent infringement in a 2019 lawsuit brought by Texas-based Optis Wireless. A second case, however, still looms in the UK. Here are the details.
A bit of background
In 2019, Optis sued Apple, alleging that iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watch models with LTE support infringed five patents covering multiple 4G/LTE networking techniques:
- U.S. Patent No. 8,019,332
- U.S. Patent No. 8,385,284
- U.S. Patent No. 8,411,557
- U.S. Patent No. 9,001,774
- U.S. Patent No. 8,102,833
In 2020, Optis was awarded $506 million, but Apple appealed and won, arguing that the damages award didn’t reflect fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing terms.
The case was sent back for a new trial, and Optis won again, this time with a $300 million award. Apple, however, successfully appealed again, this time overturning the verdict due to flaws in the jury process and the damages methodology.
This sent the case back to trial for a third time, which brings us to today.
Today’s verdict
As spotted by Reuters, a jury in the Eastern District of Texas unanimously found that Apple did not infringe any of the five patents Optis asserted in the original lawsuit.
In a statement to Reuters, Apple said:
“We thank the jury for their time, and we’re pleased they rejected Optis’ false claims, (…) Optis makes no products, and its sole business is to sue companies, which it has done repeatedly to Apple in an attempt to obtain an excessive payout.”
Optis, on the other hand, hasn’t commented on the verdict, but it is safe to assume they might want to appeal.
One thing to note is that while Apple prevailed in this U.S. case today, a separate Optis lawsuit is still playing out in the UK. That case is scheduled to move forward later this year.
To read the jury’s full verdict, follow this link.
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