Apple fends off 4G wireless patent lawsuit at third trial

Apple won a defense verdict on Thursday in a lawsuit by intellectual-property management company Optis Wireless, which had accused the tech giant of violating its patent rights in 4G wireless technology.

Optis had won verdicts of $506 million and $300 million against Apple in earlier trials in the long-running case in ‌Marshall, Texas. ⁠Both verdicts ⁠were later overturned on appeal.

"We thank the jury for their time, and we're ​pleased they rejected Optis' false claims," an Apple spokesperson said. "Optis makes no products, and ​its sole business is to sue companies, which it has done repeatedly to Apple in an attempt to obtain an excessive payout."


An ​Optis spokesperson did not immediately respond to ⁠a request ‌for comment on the verdict.

Plano, Texas-based Optis and ​its affiliates sued ​Apple in 2019, arguing that the tech giant's ⁠iPhones and other products violated their patent rights in ​technology related to the 4G LTE wireless standard. ​Apple has denied the allegations and argued the patents are invalid.

A jury found in 2020 that Apple owed $506 million for infringing Optis' patents. U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap ordered a new trial on damages in 2021 after finding the award may not have been in line with ‌Optis' responsibility to license the patents on fair and reasonable terms.

A new jury awarded Optis $300 million in damages after ​a retrial ​later that year. The ⁠U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned that verdict last year, finding Gilstrap had improperly worded the jury verdict form by ​combining all of the patents at issue into a single infringement question.

A U.K. court separately ruled last year that Apple owes Optis $502 million for infringing Optis' UK wireless patents. The U.K. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear an appeal from Apple in June.

(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)