Being an overpowered multinational is not always a sufficient status to be protected in the face of justice. Apple has just learned the hard way, because after a long legal process, the brand was ordered to pay several hundred million dollars.
The firm headed by Tim Cook will have a hard time escaping the sanction this time.
A history of patents
In August 2020, Apple lost a first lawsuit against a company called PanOptis. It accused the American giant of having infringed several patents concerning the international 4G LTE standard used on devices such as iPhones, iPads and other connected watches. Thus, the multinational was supposed to pay the astronomical sum of 506 million dollars to its “adversary”. But about a year later, a federal judge agreed to a second trial to review the judgment because of ” serious doubts regarding the verdict.
Unfortunately for Apple, the second sentence remained heavy since an order to pay damages of up to 300 million dollars was then ordered by the American courts. Of course, the Cupertino company was quick to demand (another) yet another trial in order to win the case…
Now you have to pay!
This attempt was ultimately a failure since the request for a new trial was formally rejected by the judge of the American district of Texas. Apple however hoped to reduce the amount of its judgment to zero but it will be well of 300 million dollars to be paid to PanOptis.
Additionally, PanOptis’ parent company, named Optis, is also facing Apple over the same alleged infringements in the UK. And if the American firm were to lose again, it could this time be forced to no longer sell its iPhones on English soil. No conclusion is expected before July 2022.
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Source : Apple Insider
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