The complaint dates back to August 2020. PanOptis had initially won its lawsuit and obtained $506.2 million in damages from Apple. Eventually, a new trial took place and the judges decided that the company expected to pay $300 million.
$300 million for patent infringement
The apple brand challenged this decision. Even though the sum to be paid has been reduced from $506.2 million to $300 million, Apple believes that the company behind the complaint did not provide convincing evidence patent infringement. The firm protested about the testimonies, the jury’s instructions and the amount of money awarded to PanOptis. Apple is asking for a third lawsuit.
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That request was denied by Judge Rodney Gilstrap of the U.S. District of East Texas. He said there would be no new trials. Apple will therefore have to pay the 300 million dollars damages claimed by PanOptis. The Apple brand is accused of infringing a series of 4G LTE patents with products such as the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.
Same scenario (worse) in the UK for Apple
In the UK, Apple is also embroiled in a legal case against Optis, the parent company of PanOptis. The company is accused of the same violations. The case expected to continue until July 2022 and could well have serious consequences for Apple. Some sources close to the case assure that it is possible that the judges decide to ban the sale of the iPhone in the United Kingdom.
The Optis company claims $7 billion in license fees. The UK Supreme Court has ruled that a UK court could set the fine Apple should pay for infringing UK patents. Judge Meade hinted during an initial hearing that Apple’s lawyers might be surprised by the fine his client will actually have to pay. Apple has also threatened to completely exit the UK market.
In January 2020, Apple had already been ordered to pay $837 million to Caltech for patent infringement. At the time, the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), won a major lawsuit against Apple and its supplier Broadcom, accused of infringing four patents relating to WiFi technology and accelerated data transmission.