Apple will need to pay a large sum to another company to continue using certain wireless technology. Bloomberg and The Register reported that a Texas jury ruled that Apple must pay $300 million to patent firm Optis for allegedly violating patents that cover LTE cellular service in devices such as the iPhone and iPad. A jury had already awarded Optis just more than $506 million in 2020. However, the judge ordered a damages-only hearing over concerns that the earlier jurors hadn’t considered whether the demand was fair in light of standards-based patents.
Optis is also chasing Apple UK. It hopes to establish a global royalty rate of up to $7Billion. Other companies include Samsung, Panasonic, LG and Panasonic are the patents it holds.
Apple will fight back. In a statement, the tech giant accused Optis as a patent troll. It noted that the firm was created solely to sue companies with purchased patents. Apple will continue to resist Optis' attempts to get "unreasonable" payments for patents, the iPhone maker stated.
The Register points out that the Apple payout of $300 million will not make much impact on Apple's financials. Just in the most recent quarter, Apple made $21.7 billion in net profits. The Optis payout will be slightly more than one day's profit. The problem is that Optis could be able to get regular payments, which could increase Apple's costs and push hardware prices up.
