A Texas jury ruled Thursday that Apple did not infringe on any patents owned by Optis Wireless. The ruling marks a major victory for Apple in its long-running legal battle against a company known as a "patent troll," successfully avoiding damages that could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars. According to Reuters, the jury found that Apple did not infringe any of the five LTE technology patents claimed by Optis when it sued in 2019.
This lawsuit has been full of twists and turns. Optis Wireless initially won a trial in 2020, when a jury awarded Apple $506 million in damages. However, the verdict was later overturned after Apple appealed, arguing that the jury did not fully understand the "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory" (FRAND) patent licensing principles when calculating damages. A subsequent second trial in 2021 recalculated the compensation amount to US$300 million, but Apple appealed again, and the Court of Appeal once again vacated the verdict because the district court provided incorrect instructions to the jury.
This is the third court battle between the two parties, and the final result is that Apple wins without paying any fees to Optis. In a statement to Reuters, Apple said it thanked the jury for its time and was pleased they rejected Optis' false accusations. Apple sternly pointed out in the statement: "Optis does not manufacture any products, and its only business is to sue companies. They have used this method against Apple many times in an attempt to obtain exorbitant compensation."
Although the trial ended in Apple's favor, the legal battle does not appear to be completely over. Optis is likely to appeal the ruling, taking the case back to the Court of Appeal. In addition, Apple and Optis also have a similar legal dispute in the UK. The British court had previously ordered Apple to pay US$502 million. Apple has appealed this, and the British Supreme Court plans to hear the case in June 2026.