After two court losses and two successful appeals, Apple was today cleared of all patent infringement in a 2019 lawsuit filed by Texas-based Optis Wireless. However, the second case is still emerging in the UK. Here are the details.
A little background
In 2019, Optis sued Apple, claiming that LTE-enabled iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watch models infringed on five patents covering several 4G/LTE network techniques:
- US Patent No. 8,019,332
- US Patent No. 8,385,284
- US Patent No. 8,411,557
- US Patent No. 9,001,774
- US Patent No. 8,102,833
In 2020, Optis was awarded $506 million, but Apple appealed and won, arguing that the damages did not reflect fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) license terms.
The case was sent back to a new trial and Optis won again, this time with a $300 million award. However, Apple again successfully appealed, this time overturning the verdict due to flaws in the jury process and damages methodology.
This brings the case back to court for the third time, which brings us to the present day.
Today’s verdict
As you noticed Reutersa jury in the Eastern District of Texas unanimously found that Apple did not infringe any of the five Optis patents asserted in the original lawsuit.
In a statement to Reuters, Apple said:
“We thank the jury for their time and are pleased that they rejected Optis’ false claims, (…) Optis does not make any products and its only business is to sue companies, which Apple has repeatedly done in an attempt to get an excessive payout.”
Optis, on the other hand, did not comment on the verdict, but it can be assumed that they may want to appeal.
One thing to note is that while Apple won this US case today, a separate Optis lawsuit is still ongoing in the UK. That case is scheduled to end this year.
To read the full jury verdict, click this link.
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