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Judge Cuts Patent Licensing Company WiLan's $145.1M Award From Apple to $10M

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Back in August, a California jury awarded Canadian patent holding company WiLan $145.1 million in an ongoing dispute with Apple after the iPhone was found to have infringed on two WiLan patents related to wireless communications technology.

Apple won't be paying WiLan $145.1 million, though, as the court recently decided that WiLAN must accept reduced damages of $10 million or prepare for a new trial to figure out how much Apple needs to pay.

wilan logo
The court did agree, however, that Apple infringed on the two patents, so the company will need to pay WiLan some amount in damages.

WiLan and Apple have been ordered to enter into discussions to attempt to find a resolution, and WiLan says that it remains open to a "fair and reasonable" settlement with Apple.

WiLan describes itself as "one of the most successful patent licensing companies in the world." Apple's legal dispute with WiLan started back in 2010, when WiLan claimed Apple violated one of its Bluetooth related products.

Tags: Patent Lawsuits, Patent Trials

Top Rated Comments

Kabeyun Avatar
Kabeyun
96 months ago
Apple should have bought the patents first if they wanted to use them.
Communications technology patents have become so obscure, such minutiae, that even with a multimillion dollar legal team on the payroll its hard to even know you could’ve infringed on one until a portfolio owner’s lawyer sends you a gotcha letter. “Wanting” to use them probably has nothing to do with it. That’s why there’s a clamor for patent reform legislation.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macfacts Avatar
macfacts
96 months ago
I dream of a day when the awards for these suits are less than the cost of the patents they bought.

I’ll keep dreaming. But it’s a nice dream.
Apple should have bought the patents first if they wanted to use them.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kabeyun Avatar
Kabeyun
96 months ago
I dream of a day when the awards for these suits are less than the cost of the patents they bought.

I’ll keep dreaming. But it’s a nice dream.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sniffies Avatar
sniffies
96 months ago
I think it's fair. Apple is already losing too much money because people don't wanna upgrade their iPhones yearly. Gotta support your favorite company.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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