London’s Court of Appeal has ruled that tech giant, Apple infringed two telecommunications patents, commonly used in iPhones and iPads.
The court dismissed Apple’s appeal, upholding the decision in a long-standing legal dispute with US patent holder Optis Cellular Technology.
The legal battle began in 2019 when Optis Cellular Technology, based in Texas, sued Apple for its alleged use of patents deemed essential to specific technological standards, such as 4G.
Last year, London’s High Court determined that two of Optis’ 4G patents were indeed standard essential patents and that Apple had infringed upon them.
In May, Apple challenged the High Court’s ruling, contending that the two patents in question were not essential to 4G standards and that it had not violated any patents.
However, the Court of Appeal rejected Apple’s arguments. In a written ruling, Judge Colin Birss affirmed the High Court’s decision, stating that it was right to reject Apple’s claim of non-infringement and address the issue of the patents’ essentiality.
Both Apple and Optis Cellular Technology have not yet provided an official comment regarding the ruling.
This latest ruling marks another chapter in the ongoing legal battle between Apple and Optis, which has involved six separate trials and numerous appellate hearings in Britain alone since 2019.
In a previous development, the Court of Appeal recently sided with Optis in an appeal against a previous decision that had revoked two other 4G-related patents.
This ruling, issued in October, granted Optis the right to seek an injunction against Apple’s infringement of its patents until the court determined the fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms of use.
Apple was granted permission earlier this year to appeal the October ruling, further prolonging the legal proceedings.
The outcome of these cases will have implications for the use of essential patents in the technology industry and may impact the relationships between patent holders and major technology companies.
