Washington, D.C. — Apple Inc. has successfully avoided a $300 million patent infringement judgment after a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. A three-judge panel vacated both the infringement finding and the damages amount, citing issues with jury instructions and the format of the verdict, highlighting how procedural missteps can significantly alter multimillion-dollar outcomes.
In 2020, a jury in Texas concluded that Apple had infringed on certain Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) held by Optis. SEPs are patents that must be licensed to any party wishing to comply with a relevant technology standard. Patent holders like Optis are required to offer these licenses on terms that are “fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory” (FRAND). The jury initially awarded Optis more than $506 million in royalties based on past sales.
Apple argued for a new trial, asserting that the jury did not consider Optis’s obligation to license their patents under FRAND terms. While the district court agreed to a retrial, it limited the scope to just the damages. During the retrial, the jury awarded Optis $300 million, which has now been overturned.
The Federal Circuit’s decision emphasized that the jury’s verdict form was overly broad, combining all asserted patents into a single question on infringement. This allowed jury members to find Apple liable without a unanimous agreement on which specific patent was being infringed. The court found that this approach violated Apple’s Seventh Amendment rights, which guarantee a unanimous verdict on legal claims.
Additionally, the appellate court ruled that the one patent in dispute was too abstract for litigation as proposed by Optis. The ruling indicated that lower courts had not sufficiently analyzed another patent to determine if the claims were vague enough to fail the “means-plus-function” claim standard.
Ultimately, the Federal Circuit remanded the case for a new trial addressing both the infringement and damages, illustrating the intricate nature of patent law and its implications for technology companies.
The case, referenced as Optis Cellular Tech. LLC v. Apple Inc., could have significant repercussions in the ongoing dialogue regarding patent rights, especially for companies relying on standardized technologies.
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