Apple has long been involved in personal media communications in a lawsuit over multiple patents. It is owned by PMC, but according to the company, Apple infringed on it with iTunes in 2015. The licensing company took Apple to court, which the tech company initially won. Only the PMC appealed and managed to persuade the judge, who imposed a fine of $ 308.5 million on Apple – approximately 262 million euros.
Apparently Apple was not satisfied with the fine and later appealed itself. A Texas judge decided to rule in favor of the US tech company and to overturn the fine, Reuters reports.
The reason for this is that, according to the court, PMC deliberately delayed its application to the Patent and Trademark Office. With the delay, PMC could wait for the technology to be used and then accuse the company in question of patent infringement. Since June, there have only been new rules in the US to make such practices more difficult.
There is no fine for Apple at the moment
Thus, the judge’s ruling ensures that Apple will not have to hand a red cent to PMC. All legal costs incurred by Apple must now also be paid by the licensing company. The whole case is not over yet. PMC’s attorney said he disagrees with the court’s decision and will appeal again.
Apple isn’t the only company that PMC has sued. Personal media connections also conflict with Amazon, Netflix, Google, and others. In addition, Apple itself also has the necessary lawsuits pending, including one against Epic Games.
