Apple wins long-running court battle against Optis over 4G patents in the US

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.

... continue reading