Apple has infringed on two telecoms patents in its iPhone and iPad families, a London appeals court ruled on Tuesday, dismissing the tech giant’s appeal in a long-running dispute with the US patent holder. Texas-based company Optis Cellular Technology sued Apple back in 2019 for illegally using its proprietary solutions, which are required for certain technology standards such as 4G.
Last year, the London High Court ruled that two of Optis’ 4G patents were so-called standard core patents and that Apple had infringed on them. Apple appealed the decision in May, arguing that the two pending patents are not essential to the 4G standards.
However, Apple’s objections were dismissed by the Court of Appeal, and Judge Colin Birss stated in a written ruling that the Supreme Court had done so “the right to reject Apple’s non-infringement argument.” and the importance of patents. The decision, made on Tuesday, is the latest in a legal battle between Apple and Optis that began in 2019 and has sparked six separate lawsuits and multiple appeals in the UK alone.
An appeals court last month upheld Optis’ appeal overturning the revocation of two other 4G-related patents. This followed an October 2022 ruling that gave Optis the right to injunctive relief against Apple’s actions infringing its patents until a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory determination was reached.
Apple was recently granted permission to appeal the October court ruling. It can be assumed that a reduction in the legal staff at Apple is not to be expected in the next few years.
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