US Court Orders Apple to Pay $500 Million Over PanOptis 4G Patent Violations
A Texas court has quite recently ordered the American multinational technology company, Apple Inc., to pay even more than $500 million, near about Rs. 3, 742 crores, in damages and interest for 4G Patent Violationsheld by Intellectual Property (IP) Company PanOptis. According to the local media, the US tech giant – now worth almost $2 trillion (roughly Rs. 1, 49, 70,000 crores) has vowed to appeal this decision. In an email response, Apple thanked the jury for their time and also expressed how disappointed it is with the court’s verdict. The company said that it has plans to appeal the court’s decision. The tech giant believes that lawsuits like the one in question by companies who accumulate patents to harass the industry serve only to harm the customers and stifle innovation in general. PanOptis, a company specializing in licensing patents, took Apple to court in February 2019 by claiming that the US tech giant refused to pay for the use of 4G LTE technologies in its watches, tablets, and smartphones. According to the court filing, PanOptis did make a lot of effort repeatedly to reach an agreement with Apple for a FRAND license over its infringed upon Patent Portfolios. FRAND is an